The Hanging Garden
by OrganicFantasy
Summary: A species hungry for vengeance, a parasite desiring more to consume, Humanity on the brink of destruction, and a God who started it all.
1. Never Underestimate A White Rose

_Awaken Prince Dios, Awaken and bring the revolution. Awaken and finish what you have started. Awaken and show your true power. Awaken and bring judgement to those who have defied you. _

* * *

**The Hanging Garden**

_Creatures kissing in the rain  
__Shapeless in the dark again  
__In the hanging garden  
__Please don't speak_

_In the hanging garden  
__No one sleeps  
__In the hanging garden _

_Catching halos on the moon  
__Gives my hands the shapes of angels  
__In the heat of the night  
__The animals scream  
__In the heat of the night  
__Walking into a dream _

_Fall, fall, fall, fall  
__Into the walls  
__Jump, jump out of time  
__Fall, fall, fall, fall  
__Out of the sky  
__Cover my face as the animals cry_

_In the hanging garden  
__In the hanging garden_

_Creatures kissing in the rain  
__Shapeless in the dark again  
__In a hanging garden  
__Change the past  
__In a hanging garden  
__Wearing furs and masks _

_Fall, fall, fall, fall  
__Into the walls  
__Jump, jump out of time  
__Fall, fall, fall, fall  
__Out of the sky  
__Cover my face as the animals die _

_In the hanging garden  
__As the animals die  
__Cover my face as the animals die_

_In the hanging garden..._

* * *

I've decided to rewrite most of the chapters in THG, seeing as my writing style has gotten a lot better. I'm getting rid of the shitty dialogue and scenes and putting in something worthwhile.. So enjoy my rewritten chapter 1. Hopefully it's much better than what I gave you before.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Never Underestimate A White Rose **

She held her head up high, her backpack slung over her shoulder. She wore a male's school uniform, white and rose colored (her idea) that she designed herself. Gold buttons donned the cuffs of the sleeves and went down the front of the uniform. The hair, of course, was magenta, a lovely mixture of pink and purple dyed at the rebellious age of ten. Her hair was strawberry red before that, and it was cut in a boy's style.

She walked proudly in front of the school hallways, stopping dead as the teacher yelled behind her.

"Balamiya Vardihi!"

She turned around, her candy teal eyes smirking. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Why are you wearing such a strange get-up?" the teacher asked.

"Strange?"

"Strange."

Vardihi played dumb, until she pulled out the school handbook from her pack and flipped through it vigorously. She cocked an eyebrow and closed the book. "Well, it says nothing in the handbook that wearing something like this is against the rules. I hereby declare myself sane. Goodbye."

"But _shocking pink_?!" The teacher finally shrieked.

Vardihi sighed. "It's not _shocking pink_, Mrs. Arcieri, It's _rose_. It's a nice color and I picked it out myself. Nothing obnoxious."

The teacher, Mrs. Arcieri, was tired of this charade. For seven times she reprimanded the thirteen year old on her choice of color, and yet all seven times she wore it again and again. Mrs. Arcieri finally gave up. The woman huffed in defeat and walked to her classroom. Vardihi smiled, and continued on her way.

"Okay, class, I'm passing out the quiz from yesterday. Luckily some of you got better grades than last semester. I'm proud of you guys for giving it your all."

Mr. Harrison blankly handed out test papers, almost throwing them in a careless manner. Vardihi got hers and stared at the "B-" on the paper. Turning it over to the blank side, she took her pen and began to draw absentmindedly. She drew space, never-ending space. The stars glimmered in the white rectangle, and she added a gigantic halo in the center of the picture orbiting around a large planet.

Something was familiar about that place. Something she knew existed, and not in her dreams. It was everything she loved and despised.

"Vardihi, stop drawing on your paper," the lame voice said. She looked up and saw her teacher looking slightly disgusted at her. He wasn't an artistic type person, and he didn't enjoy students doodling on their papers.

Mr. Harrison drawled on and on about something, but Vardihi wasn't listening. She added more to the picture, and took out a blank paper. There she drew a temple. A huge shrine to a God she didn't know. It puzzled her, why she drew such things. But she had been doing this even before the accident–

The bell rung and she ran ahead of the other students, trying to catch her next class before she was late...again.

Basketball was her favorite sport. She loved the feeling of running and the feeling of sweat on her brow. The excitement that echoed in her body when she grabbed the ball from the other player's hands, and the triumph of shooting a perfect basket. The pride that came with a roaring cheer, and the embrace of her teammates' hugs and handshakes.

She had learned to work as a team through this sport, and the acceptance of defeat. As much as the girl was indifferent of losing a game, she couldn't be apathetic to the fact that even though she was one of the best players on the team, she was alienated and ignored by her peers.

Vardihi picked up a towel and patted her brow, brushing her magenta out of her face. Halftime was almost over, and the cheerleaders were finishing up their dance routine. Vardihi didn't judge cheerleaders, as much as she wanted to. Sure, there were some blondes on the team, but in all honesty, there weren't bimbos or airheads.

_I lift my lips from kissing you,  
__To kiss the starlight hovering over  
__The twilight garden's midnight roses  
__Blooming with such clarity_

Shaking her head she perked up. She heard voices! Three of them! One's a soprano, one's an alto, the other's...a sweet combination of both. Or maybe...maybe it was one voice. She couldn't tell.

A whistle blowing signified the end of half time, and that the teams needed to get back on the court. Trying to distance herself from the voices, she tried to be as occupied in the game as possible.

Minutes past and she was almost in the fight of her life, dodging and catching the ball. Sweat poured from her brow and she stopped suddenly. The voices...again.

_On that day that I left you  
__The pain of watching you cry has burned into my soul  
__I will never let you weep again _

Oh, they were gorgeous! Vardihi closed her eyes and began to loose herself to their melody.

_No one will every replace you  
__Always searching for your scent  
__Can you hear my voice calling out to you?  
__I am lost within you  
__No one will ever replace you  
__Sweet-_

The hard ball colliding with her head sent her flying backwards onto the floor, hitting her head and causing the opposing team to laugh. The coach ran up to her and helped her up.

"Are you okay? What happened? You just stopped!" She said.

"Well, yeah I'm fine." Vardihi shrugged. "It's just that I was hearing voices again and-"

The coach sighed. "Alright, come on. Off the court." Then, to the players; "Alright! Balamiya's out of the game on account of her medical condition!"

The players and the students in the bleachers booed and made a huge deal out of it. One of the better players on the team threw her hands in the air and said, "Oh great! Now we'll have to forfeit!"

"Why? Just keep playing without me. That's all."

The player rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath about "fucking stupid schizos".

Sighing, Vardihi walked out with the coach, feeling like she let the whole team down.

As usual, she sat at the lunch table by herself. It wasn't all that uncommon to be shunned by her peers because of her "schizophrenia". She'd heard voices for as long as she could remember...even on that day, when everything changed. And she made a vow to-

"What a weird girl."

Vardihi looked up and saw a group of girls in their short skirts and puffy sleeved school uniforms that looked all alike. They stood a good ten feet from where Vardihi ate her sandwich is silence, and she could still here them.

"I heard she can hear voices. She doesn't talk much."

"But she's so cool! At basketball today, before she schizo'ed out-" That's what they called it. Schizo-ing out. It hurt, to be made fun of. To be idolized and yet feared at the same time.

"Yeah, but she's a freak. Come on, Dorothy. What girl has friggin' magenta hair and goes around wearing a boy's uniform styled in that manner? And what kind of name is 'Vardihi' anyways? It sounds like a crack name."

"But...she gets good grades and she's so nice and kind! Just a few weeks ago a girl broke her leg in gym and Vardihi carried her all the way to the nurse's office! Lisa can't get enough of her now! Isn't that something?"

"She's still a freak. I dare you to go talk to her. Hey, Joanne, go talk to her."

"Uhm," she looked towards Vardihi, who was chewing on her sandwich. Nervously she gulped as if she were going to be thrown to the lions. "Okay."

Joanne walked towards her and sat across from the not-so oblivious Vardihi, who looked up and nodded, then swallowed. "Hi, Joanne. What brings you to my little nook?" They both knew why.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about those...voices."

Vardihi's candy teal eyes looked upwards, then back at her sandwich. "It's odd. Every time I hear them, I remember things. It's like...like I've listen to them–well, I don't know if it's one or even three people, they sound so perfect. I remember hearing their voices for as long as I can remember. When I was a baby I recall them singing to me. I feel at peace. When I hear their voices, I can recall the lyrics perfectly. When they stop...I forget everything. Odd eh–Joanne?"

She glanced upwards to see an empty seat. Joanne had apparently taken off with the other girls talking about how crazy Vardihi was. Shrugging, she felt a bit more alienated than before.

"Mr and Mrs. Wallis, Vardihi had another hearing spell again...yes, it was during basketball...she's fine now, but-"

Vardihi sat in the uncomfortable chair that the school secretary gave to her. The sound of the principal's voice talking to her foster parents made her cringe. She didn't want them to know. She didn't want to be scolded. She didn't want to be-

"Miss Balamiya?"

She looked up and stared into the principal's smiling face. His dim brown eyes were hidden under his smoked glasses. "Vardihi, your parents will be here to pick you up. The school nurse checked you out, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. She's prescribing you a new pill so that you can stop having these spells."

Vardihi stayed silent, and nodded. As long as she could remember, she could hear voices. The doctors diagnosed her with schizophrenia and she had been on cocktails of pills since then. Sighing, she ran her fingers through her dyed hair until she heard the sound of the door opening. Her foster parents, looking very tired, signed her out. They were about to leave when the principal and nurse lead them to a closed area where Vardihi couldn't hear them. After fifteen minutes, all four emerged and went different paths. She followed her parents to the car, and waited to be scolded.

"Do you know how embarrassing this is?"

Vardihi clenched her fists. "Yes."

"Do you know how much money it costs to buy these friggin' pills for your condition?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"We're taking you out of basketball."

"WHAT?!" Her eyes widened with tears. "But-but I love that sport! Please, I'm begging you-"

"No!" her foster mother looked at her steely, angry. "We've had enough. It's bad enough that the neighbors are suspecting us of fostering a demented child. It's so good you'll be out of here in a few months! I don't know how much of this I can take any more..."

"Mom...I'm sorry." she hated this feeling. The feeling of letting someone she cared about down. For the rest of the ride they were all silent. Two of them seething with rage, the thirteen year old girl in shame. The sun glared in her eyes, off of the precious ring she wore on her ring finger. She pulled at the gold buttons on her uniform and thought about many things.

She thought about her real parents. She thought about the pressure she laid on her previous foster parents. She thought about the homework that needed to be done, and the tests coming up.

"We're here." Mr. Wallis sighed.

She exited the car and walked up the stepping stone walkway, where the neighbors were waving awkwardly and murmuring to themselves. Vardihi frowned in disgust.

No human alive would take advantage of a man without arms or legs. No human would think about robbing a blind person. No sane individual would ever make fun of a hideously deformed being. No upstanding and moral person would consider cheating a good natured, good hearted amnesiac just trying to find out who he was.

Yet, when it came to mental disorders, such a schizophrenia, no one was safe from teasing, rumors, heinous whispers and lies behind their backs. It made her sick.

The cool scent of an air freshener in the foyer calmed her mind a bit. Taking her backpack she traveled up the soft carpeted stairs, trying to ignore the angry hisses of her foster parents.

Her room was a soft pink, with only a bed, a wooden desk, some drawers and a lamp, but nothing else. She threw her pack onto the floor (also carpeted) and fell onto the bed.

She was upset, she was tired, she wanted to find her purpose in life besides being handed down to one foster parent after another.

It would be nice to find someone who isn't afraid of her, who cares about her, and who loves her. Vardihi smiled; there was only one man for her, and no one else.

Her savior. Her role model. Her prince.

* * *

Ahhh! Yes! Finally! I hope you all enjoyed the new chapters. I'll be working on the more recent


	2. Sweet Dreams Are Made Of These

_Sweet dreams are made of these. Who am I to disagree? I travel the world and the seven seas. Everybody's_ _looking for something _

* * *

**The Hanging Garden**

Greetings! It's me again, giving you more rewritten chapter goodness!

This chapter is dedicated to my psychiatrist, Dr. Schnaps (yes that's how it's spelled...he's Jewish), the man who was my best friend and my confidante, the man who rescued me from depression and loneliness. The description of the room is based off of his "workroom", as he called it.

And check out my forums in my Bio! Add analysis, some suggestions, whatever! I'd love to hear from you guys!

* * *

**Chapter 2 :: Sweet Dreams Are Made of These **

Vardihi played with the ring on her finger. An opalescent white rose with a diamond in its center rested on a golden band. The rose glowed in the moon and shone in the sun, and always carried the scent of roses.

All those years ago, and she had never once taken it off. The ring comforted her, gave her a sense of peace.

She yawned, and her eyes began to close. But before she could rest, she had to get homework out of the way. Grunting in annoyance, she pulled out her math, science and English books and started to work. Two hours went by on a snail's pace, and when she had finished it all Vardihi felt exhausted, but satisfied.

Again her eyes willed themselves closed. But she couldn't fall asleep! Not with the insane dreams she always has. They made her frightened, cold, alone, and helpless. They were nightmares, obviously. But she was so tired!

Maybe just a few minutes wouldn't hurt.

Vardihi curled into the comforting warmth of sheets and blankets, her eyes more than happy to close themselves. She gave into the fight, and allowed whatever dream to come.

* * *

"_Where...am I?" _

_In her dream, she was floating through space. It was very common, it had visited her almost every time she fell asleep. _

_It was calm, cool to her exposed flesh. Space smelled like velvet, leather and deep cologne, a surprising scent when she first had these dreams, now it was merely a sign to where she was. _

_A planet hung lazily among the stars. Not her planet, Earth, but another, more foreign one. _

"_Gorgeous," she said gently drifting her hand towards it. She was so far away, yet she could feel the warmth_

_She gasped as a gigantic tear dropped alien ship hovered near the surface. Then two, then tree, then fifty. Soon there were so many of these ships that they almost clogged the sky. Curious she hovered a bit closer to them, wondering what they- _

_She heard screams. _

_Even in space, she could hear human and alien screams. Vardihi covered her ears to block them out, but they only got louder. _

_Bright neon purple-white beams emitted from the ships. The screams only increased. She shut her eyes. _

"_STOP! STOP! STOP! MAKE IT STOP!" _

_A blinding light, and silence. _

_Carefully, cautiously, she opened her eyes. The planet, once a healthy, pink hue, was now a molten red-black. A smouldering husk of a planet. _

"_What...?" _

_The sound of glass clinking together offered a sweet sound, but no solace. _

"_Hello?!" she cried out, hoping someone would answer. Nothing. _

"_HELLO?!" Still nothing. She was faced with the dreaded silence. Something she had a semi-phobia of. Silence, and pure darkness. And solitude. _

_Weeping, she curled into a little ball, and willed herself to wake up. _

"_I'm so sorry..."_

* * *

Vardihi woke with tears on her face. Still drowsy she clumsily wiped them away, only smearing them further on her face. She noticed that the dream she had was unique; most of her space dreams consisted on her floating through space, often dancing in zero gravity.

She only had a handful of dreams such as that. And every time she did, she woke up crying.

Her ring glowed brightly under the sheets, and Vardihi wasn't surprised. After dreams like the one she had, it always glowed sadly. It was as if it was telling her, "Why did such a thing happen? Why didn't you stop it?", which made her feel guilty.

She kneeled on her bed, looking out of the window, and reached for her notebook. The sun had started to set, and the sky was a lavender-periwinkle, some orange and a bit of butter yellow. The colors reminded her of the planets that were destroyed in her dreams. Her ring hadn't stopped glowing.

Taking out a pen she sketched an image of her prince; it had been five years since she'd last seen him, and yet she could picture his face clearly. A smile drifted to and from her face and she drew him in many poses, his face in different expressions.

The other pages were similar, yet they contained drawings from her dreams. Planets, shrines, roses, rings, swords, her dream diary. Her psychiatrists said that writing, or even drawing what she dreamed about, was healthy and could help the doctors more than she thought. But when they looked at the images they looked not only surprised, but amused.

Finishing the drawing she slammed the book closed. She was a freak, apparently, to everyone. Shrink or no, she was nothing.

So she'll find a place that will accept her for who she is. No matter how, she will find it. With those thoughts she set about packing; she was running away and not looking back.

Vardihi took out her enormous sakura backpack her father gave to her months before the accident. It was a light pink with pretty sequin and silk sakura blossoms that she had treasured, but never used. Now was a perfect time to put it to good use. Opening it she inhaled the sweet smell of Japanese air (to her, every country had its own special scent) and browsed her room for any useful items.

She took the necessities, including her spring-summer uniform, and then began to pick up special things.

Her sketchbook was needed, as were her books, fairy tales that her parents would tell her, along with her thick astronomy books. The stained glass sun catcher of a woman hung on her window. It was the last to go in.

The woman had long golden red hair, her face blank. Vardihi didn't know what her face looked like, and simply put peach colored glass there. She made it that summer ago at a camp. Lovingly wrapping it with a thick towel she placed it gently on top of her other things, and closed the backpack tightly.

Soon, very soon, she will escape-

"Vardihi!"

Grimacing she put down her pack. Maybe her plan will come later than she hoped. Opening her door and stepping onto the small "balcony" on top of the stairs, she saw her mother looking hangdog.

"Vardihi...in seven minutes we'll go to your psychiatrist's appointment."

"But...I didn't know I was having one today."

"Your father spoke to him; he wants to see you as soon as possible. Be ready quickly, Vardihi."

Nodding she took off, her beautiful dress swaying as she walked. The girl heard weeping, and hung her head in shame.

"I've been having these weird thoughts lately."

The doctor wrote furiously on his paper. Balamiya Vardihi was a very interesting case of schizophrenia.

"Hmm? How so? Elaborate, miss." His voice had a thick Jewish accent and a smile more fatherly than her foster father's.

"Like...is any of this for real? Or not?"

"About today's hearing spell...was it the same song?" He leaned back in his chair, staring Vardihi down calmly. She looked into his eyes and nodded. "The same voices...or was it one voice?"

"I can never tell, Dr. Reznacoff. It sounds like three voices, but at the same time, one voice." Vardihi spoke. "They, or maybe he or she, sing the same song over and over again. It's beautiful. I've heard it so many times! But each time...when they finish, I forget the words. And when they sing again, I remember them! It's really odd."

Reznacoff jotted down more notes. "Have you brought your dream pad with you this time?"

"Yes! I didn't forget." Smiling she handed him the book, and he studied the more recent pictures. "Are they...do they make sense?"

He chuckled. "Vardihi, when one has schizophrenia, nothing makes sense. To either the sufferer, or the ones around her. Your pictures are lovely, but what about the Prince that saved you?"

"I've never seen him since that day, Doctor. I want to meet him so bad!" Her voice was one of frustration. "He inspired me, and I want to thank him."

For a moment Vardihi's pastel teal eyes darted around the room. The yellow floral papered walls, the comfortable couches and the "shrink bed", the windows that were pristine, the lights that were off, the pictures of various Gods and Goddesses from various religions, the scent of tulips, daisies and sunflowers from the vases that his wife brought it, the small wind chimes that soothed all who heard them. She never felt more at peace than with Dr. Reznacoff.

There had been other doctors, before him, that laughed at her experience with her Prince, who told her that it was nothing more than a hallucination, a fragment of insanity. It was all right, they had said, schizophrenia could do that.

And she was afraid that maybe, just maybe, Dr. Reznacoff was mocking her in kindness. She thought for a moment that he was making fun of her behind her back, with other psychiatrists. She could picture him doing that around the water cooler, snickering about the pictures she drew and the dreams she had.

"Never lose your innocence, Vardihi. Or your romance. Keep them both as long as you live, do you understand?" He took off his large glasses and laid them down. "You will meet your prince, if you keep up the search. Now, can you send your...parents...in for me? I have something to talk to them about. May I show them your dream pad?"

She nodded and walked away, allowing her foster parents to enter the room and close the door. She wanted to know what they were talking about, and stayed by the door.

At first it was just whispers and hisses, but they slowly became clearer.

"-thing is, she needs someone who understands what she's going through. Here, in this picture, a mother nursing her child, from a recent dream she's had. Do you know what this means? Mrs. Wallis, she needs a maternal figure in her life."

"I am one, Dr. Reznacoff."

"From what I've heard from both you and her, you seem to have a disdain for mentally ill people. You and Mr. Wallis don't give her the support she needs. You don't care for her, you pity her. You treat her like a homeless dog, one that you are all too willing to turn to the streets."

"That may be true but-"

"No buts! I'm tired of them. What if she needs to be sent to a...a mental institution?"

"An asylum?"

"They're called mental institutions now, more 'politically correct'. What happens if she needs to go there? What will you do?"

"Doctor, you must understand; we worry about her more than anything. You remember that time, a few months ago, when she laid in bed for a week, crying and saying she didn't have the will to go on, don't you? It was nerve wracking for us."

"Because people were talking behind your backs. Because rumors about you were spreading."

"Oh for Christ's sake!"

Vardihi scrambled away from the door and onto a couch, where she pretended to be fascinated with the Monet paintings. The door swung open to reveal her angry parents. They paid for the appointment and almost yanked Vardihi's arm out of the socket dragging her to the car.

All the way home angry accusations and guilt trips were thrown her way. She struggled not to cry, but the tears betrayed her.

* * *

Evening had set, the stars and full moon were already glistening. The sun was already on the other side of the world when Vardihi put the finishing touches on her packing. Her fosters, exhausted from yelling, had retired to their bed.

She carefully crept down the stairs, backpack fastened on both shoulders. If they caught her, hell would break loose. Almost on tiptoe she stared down the door in front of her, and Vardihi's heart jumped with each step.

Her hand brushed the doorknob, and she gave a silent cheer of victory. The cool air brushed at her bangs, and without looking back, the girl walked out. With each step she felt more confident, more sure of her fate.

She had been ignoring the call for too long. It was more than time to leave. More than time to face...to face...whatever came her way. As her feet trailed ahead of her, she knew where to go for the night: the Rozengarten a few miles ahead in Oakenfield Park.

Disregarding the weight of her pack, Vardihi jogged faster, and smiled.

_There, but for the grace of God, go I!_


	3. Beyond the Well

_Tighten the rose laced noose, bite the silver chain. I adore you. _

* * *

**The Hanging Garden**

Hello again. This is the revised chapter three. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 3 :: Beyond the Well **

The trek was long and hard, but she had made it.

Vardihi gave a gasp of relief as she slid the pack off her shoulders. It was ten o' clock now, and she had all night to think about her next move. But for now, she will wander around the Rozengarten and admire the roses.

She had come here often, to think. The owner of the garden it, a lonely German man whose wife died from cancer, was very kind and gave the children sugared flower petals. He was over eighty, and had an air of wisdom that she admired in him.

The moon was full that night, and there was not a cloud in the sky, for that she was grateful; it gave her some light to go by.

Vardihi shivered at the thought of pure darkness. Since she had been a baby darkness had frightened her, given her a sense of loneliness and loss.

_So does silence,_ she thought bitterly. _But where I'm going, there is no darkness or silence._

At least, she hoped so.

After walking around aimlessly, she saw the round stone well that had laid there forever. She stared at the rose vines that climbed the old rocks with such vigor and stubbornness. It didn't matter than it was autumn; they will grow more and more just to spite nature.

_I lift my eyes from watching you_

_To watch the moonlight shining over _

_Your elegant form so lithe and warm _

_Running through the dawning sky _

_I now count the shooting stars flying by _

_The broken shards of glass soar through the heavens _

Vardihi gasped and stumbled away from the well, the voices sounding clearer. She ran to her backpack for comfort, for support. Just being by it made her feel safer. So in an attempt to soothe herself further, she placed it on her back and walked again to the well. The interior of the well was a seemingly infinite blackness that threatened to swallow all who dared to-

"No! No!" She shook her head to erase the thought of eternal darkness. It brought back memories of that day, and another odd dream that scared her into a phobic delirium.

_No one will ever replace you _

_Always searching for your scent _

_Can you hear my voice calling out to you? _

_I am lost within you. _

_No one will ever replace you _

Now she was sure she could hear it! They'd all say she was insane...but she wasn't returning to them. She was going to her paradise. She was going to do something with her life. Vardihi leaned a bit further, closer to the dark depths.

_We are waiting for you...come to us.. _

It was as if someone behind her pushed her in, but there was no one behind her. It seemed as if a hand had grabbed hers and pulled her into the well, but there was no hand. Backpack and all the girl fell face first into the wellspring. Not knowing what else to do, she gasped her shock and shut her eyes tight.

* * *

What felt like an eternity was actually a few seconds. What felt like darkness was really light. What felt like a rock was actually...a rock.

"Huh?"

Thinking she must've banged her head against the stone walls of the well, she rubbed the sore spot and pushed against the boulder.

Wait...boulder? Wasn't she in a well?

Much to her shock, she wasn't in the well, and she wasn't in the Rozengarten. For all she could care, this wasn't Earth. Opening her eyes she gasped in pure shock and perplexity.

_Toto, I'm not in Kansas anymore... _

Surrounding her was a lush landscape, waterfall included. The air was calming and sweet, some flora grew around her, yet no birds or any other wildlife. Looking around she was slightly frightened, and slightly relieved. Vardihi frowned; what if she was asleep, and this was all a dream? In an attempt to prove this theory wrong, she picked up a rock and gently brought it down on her hand. The girl winced; she wasn't dreaming.

What if she died, and this was Heaven? Vardihi smiled and hoped it was true. But something felt like this wasn't all as heavenly as it looked.

_Well, I should take advantage of my good fortune and explore some more! _She thought cheerfully, picking up her large pack. _Who knows what I may find, or who I may find? Maybe this is a secret world full of mysteries and secrets. Maybe my Prince is here! _

Imagining running into her Prince sent her into a canter full of happiness. An hour later she felt tired, and very thirsty. She hadn't seen any signs of life and was ready to give up and just take a nap, when she spied an interesting looking creature hiding behind a bush. It had short stubby arms and legs, and had on an odd tank on its back with what seemed to be a breather on its mouth. It was mumbling to itself.

Thinking the alien was harmless, she got on her knees and dug around for a treat in her backpack. She clicked her tongue until it spun around. At first it seemed scared and reached for its gun, then looked at her oddly.

"Hi there, cutie," she said in a semi-high pitched voice. "Hi. Um...I'm lost, and I need some help. Do you want a cookie?-no! Please don't run away! Listen...I'm not a bad person."

The turtle-thing looked at her and crept slowly towards her hand that held a pink macaroon. It sniffed the treat and snatched it out of her hands.

"Good...uh, boy. So! Can you tell me where I am?"

It was too busy eating the macaroon to respond. It was sweet and soft, slightly crunchy; in other words, it tasted good.

"Am I on your home world?"

The alien snorted. "If I was on my home world, I wouldn't be needing _this!_" It tapped the tank on its back.

"Oh! Are you lost too? Did you find yourself here too?"

"No."

"Okay...can you tell me where I can find a phone or holo thingy so I can get out of here?"

"There is none."

"Oh great," she rolled her eyes. "So I'm stuck here forever. Well, it's better than staying at the Wallis's." Then, to the turtle thing, "So, where am I? And what's your name?"

"Gimme another one of those things and I'll tell you anything." It looked like it was smirking. Shrugging she handed him another macaroon and watched as he devoured it. The alien looked at her through hungry chews (he had been denied food for three days for a mistake) and almost as if just realizing what she was, it took several steps backwards.

"Hey! Uhm, you didn't answer my questions. And relax little dude," she smiled warmly. "It's not like I gave you poison, right?"

The face paled and the eyes widened. It scrambled away from her screaming bloody murder. Vardihi was left with confusion plastered on her face, wondering why he took her so seriously and proceeded to pick up her backpack when-

"HEE! HUMAN! THERE!"

"Huh?"

Vardihi turned her head, and to her horror many different creatures came running (and firing curious weaponry) after her. A pang of fear hit her hard and the nausea at the thought of being killed washed through her like a tidal wave. At first it was slow, getting her legs to run, and then it was hard, getting her legs to stop.

Her back pack was heavy and hurt her shoulders, but the items in there could never be replaced, much like her life.

She tripped over a small rock, landed face first on the warm grass and cried. She was going to die, Vardihi was sure of it.

_I don't wanna die I don't wanna die I don't wanna die _

A strong hand grabbed her pack and threw it off the girl's back. Vardihi whimpered in fright and curled into a ball, hoping for her attackers to loose interesting. The feeling of a hoof kicking her onto her back made her gut tighten and her whole body sweat.

She looked into the face of a monster: quadruple hinged jaws, scaly skin and topaz yellow eyes. The armor was a bloody crimson, a color that sent chills through her veins. Vardihi's body trembled and she was sure that it was going to shoot her dead.

The tall reptilian beast knelt down and visually examined her. She could tell that it was confused, if not completely baffled, at her appearance. A scaly hand reached up and touched her short magenta hair, sniffing it, then proceeded to run its finger through it. Obviously it had never seen dyed hair before.

It quickly lost interest in her foreign colored locks and grabbed her chin forcefully, making her look at it in the face. Now it seemed the reptile was examining her eyes, her candy teal eyes. Vardihi's body remained still as a statue out of fear.

"Pl-please don't kill me..." her voice was dry, like a parched lamb at the udder.

Am avian voice mocked her, and it emitted not from the reptilian. "Please don't kill me."

"Please don't kill me." she repeated, but she didn't know why.

"Please don't kill me," the laughter was like crow's claws against rough metal. The reptilian growled in frustration and shouted something in a tongue she didn't know over its shoulder.

It snorted and grabbed the backpack, searching through its contents for anything useful or dangerous, like a bomb or a wire. Vardihi opened her mouth to protest, but decided it would be best not to speak.

A ragged towel covered item caught the alien's eye. By touching it the beast knew it was glass, and handled it carefully. It may be something useful to the Covenant. Slowly it peeled the rag away and in seconds, it gasped in horrified awe.

Vardihi watched as it stood, and called over its comrades. They rushed to him to see what was the matter, and they stared in fascination at the trinket. Some of them made what seemed to be religious gestures, others prayed in foreign tongues. One of the bird looking creatures chattered at him furiously, to which the red alien pointed at her.

_Oh my god I did something wrong I'm going to die oh my god please help me god help me god help me. _

She wanted her stained glass window. She wanted to hold it and never let it go. To pry it out of their wretched ands and run far, far away. Vardihi's right arm trembled and she reached for it, her long cream colored fingers curling and uncurling.

"Lu...lu...lu..."

All eyes were set upon her, and they were wide as saucers. Was that the woman's name? Lulu? Vardihi thought as much.

"Bo...ha...i...a..."

That sent them into an uproar, if nothing else did. Another turtle thing fainted, the red alien's four jaws were clenched in shock. It backed away from her, in fear or in wonder she didn't know.

But her eyes turned to the sky and prayed for a miracle. Tears blurred her vision, and sobs threatened to rack her body. Helplessly she crawled over to her sakura backpack, clutching it as if it would guarantee her safety. Vardihi didn't want to die.

The aliens were gone. They took her beautiful stained glass picture with them. The beautiful woman on the picture would never be seen by her eyes again, she thought. The sad fact sent her in a trembling fit of weeping. All her hard work! Gone! The gentle soothing colors of peach and the authoritarian golden red were taken by those monsters.

Vardihi said nothing, but instead stared in wonder at the large highway that lead up into the heavens. The breath was caught in her throat and for some time she did not speak or even breathe.

_Where am I?!_

* * *

"Your Excellency! We found...we found something!"

The Sangheili in ceremonial armor turned, and frowned at what he saw. "'Otaree, you are distressed."

"Yes...I am." He bowed his head in respect, still holding the glass window delicately. His hands were trembling, sweating, but still keeping his grip. "Like I said before, we found something of a curious nature, if not disturbing."

"Well then, what is it? What did you find?"

"An artifact."

"Where?"

"A human had it-"

The higher Sangheili gasped. "A human! Here? How?!"

"I do not know...I swear, Supreme Commander, I do not know how it came here."

An eyebrow cocked in confusion. No words were exchanged, but the youth could tell his superior had questions. Questions neither of them had answers to.

The red clad alien nodded. "Yes. But back onto the subject on the artifact..." he presented it to the Supreme Commander, and just as he had predicted, his superior gasped in shock.

"How did the human-?"

"Yet again, I do not know."

Carefully the Supreme Commander reached out a trembling hand and clenched it carefully in his hands. Staring back at him was the beautiful Madonna, the Mater Dorolosa, the mother of..._Him. _

"Did the human have...any more?"

"I did not see any."

A curious Huragok, who had overheard the intensity of the conversation, carefully floated near the two Sangheili and chirped. It's eyes fell onto the picture and it squealed in joy.

_where, find, this? _

The Supreme Commander never knew what it was saying, which made it more frustrating for the rose quartz colored alien. The red alien had an inkling of what it was trying to say, and awkwardly signed that a human had it in its possession.

_Bring here! Need to question! _

"What did it say, 'Otaree?"

"It wants that human here. The Huragok wants to see if the human knows of, or has, anything else of our Lord."

"As do I. Bring it here, if you see the human again. I, too, wish to have some questions answered." With that he turned and studied the stained glass, the four fingers on his hand caressing the blank peach face. The Huragok twittered in excitement. It couldn't wait to tell its sleeping companions!

'Otaree bowed and walked away, seeing the Unggoy and Kig-Yar who were with him obviously distressed. He noted that while the Kig-Yar always spoke of money and never of the Great Journey, or the Exalted Ones, or even of Him, a part of him believed that they truly believed in the religion.

He, too, wanted to see the human again, Secretly he was one of the Sangheili who thought that humans were equal to them, a large and dangerous step for any of the Covenant to make. 'Otaree had seen them do remarkably selfless things for their species' survival, and that was enough to make Sala 'Otaree respect his enemy.

The Sangheili noted to study the Huragok's sign language more often. Sala knew very few signs, but just enough to make some sense to the floating creatures. Most of the time he was lost and would sign "repeat" over and over again, much to their annoyance. This time was one of the few in which he didn't botch up and misinterpret what they were trying to say.

Sala 'Otaree decided that sooner was better, and he left the Covenant encampment to look for her again.

* * *

Ugh, finally. This has been done for a while, but I needed to tweak some things here and there. 


	4. Wake Up to a New World

_It this land of make believe, I can feel no pain. _

_

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**The Hanging Garden **

Guess who? Yes, 'tis I! With another re-written chapter for your delight. Yes, I'm working on chapter 23, and so on and so forth.

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**Chapter 3 :: Wake Up to a New World **

Balamiya Vardihi had fallen asleep after crying so hard. Her arms crossed together in a statuesque pose, her face still streaked with dry tears. The feeling of sunlight and wind on her face aroused her into being awakened, but she didn't open her eyes. Instead, she curled up into a fetal position and began to slowly drift back into unconsciousness.

_What a strange dream I had...I fell in the well at the Rozengarten and met a turtle-alien! I can't wait to tell the Wallis's..._

The coolness of green grass under her palms made her realize that this wasn't in her bed. A shock sent through her and her eyes snapped open. The long, curved highway into the heavens harshly reminded her that this wasn't a dream, nor was it Heaven.

Purgatory, maybe? _Or an alien world._ She thought.

Vardihi wiped her face vigorously with her small hands, and sniffled. A feeling of nausea hit her stomach and she coughed so hard her throat and voice became dry. It was time to get some water.

A moment later she hiked towards a freshwater pond with her backpack, and stopped to drink from it. It was deliciously clean and thirst-quenching. Even after she had drunk her fill she continued to gather water in her cupped hands and suck from them. It tasted so good!

Vardihi shrieked as a large hand gripped her shoulder and turned around to see the same red alien as before. Now she was sure it was going to kill her. This time it was going to rip her throat out and eat her innards, or even sacrifice her to some unknown god. She clenched her eyes and waited for the killing blow.

"Human, you can relax yourself. I'm not going to harm you."

She gave a small breathy gasp and looked at the alien. Sarcastic chuckles escaped from her despite her situation; this alien _had _to be lying. "What is this? Bullshit alien story number seven?"

But he merely shook his head. "No, I am being honest. I will not hurt you."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

_Well, he __didn't__ kill me when he could, so..._

"What do you want from me?" she asked timidly.

It kneeled to examine her closer. "That stained glass you carried with you; do you know of its significance?"

"I made it in summer camp." She shrugged. "After the camp counselor told us to remember a very special event in our lives and put in the window he gave us. I chose the picture of that woman."

The alien narrowed its eyes. "Where did you see her?"

"In my dreams."

It looked away and seemed entranced with the pool of water they sat next to, and Vardihi looked at it as well. Each gust of wind caused several ripples that distorted their reflections and caused a lock of magenta to fall out of Vardihi's tightly laced hair and into her face. Huffing she brushed it aside, not really thinking twice about what she had just set in motion.

Her ring shimmered in the sun, catching the alien's eye. When she lay her left hand upon her lap again it grabbed her wrist in a vice and did not let go.

"What?! Stop! Hey, that hurts!"

It yanked her left hand to look at the ring closer, and sucked in a heavy breath. This human was in possession of the most important and sacred item in the Covenant religion.

"Where did you get this?" it asked, the voice a breathy whisper.

Vardihi opened her mouth, then shut it tightly; chances are if she told him her story, she would be made fun of, or laughed at.

"I...can't tell."

"Why not?"

"Just leave me alone. Please!" He voice wailed as his grip tightened. That crack she heard better have been one of her knees.

Sala didn't want to kill the human; it was too important and he was fascinated by the fearlessness. He thought about relieving the pain by letting go of wrist, but he realized that it would probably run away.

"Human, listen to me: I am taking you to my superior. He has questions he wants answered, and you are going to give them to him." She went still and looked at him.

"What if I don't want to go?"

"Then I will drag you there."

She hung her head and twitched her fingers, trying to get the alien to let go. It did, and her hand tingled with re-awakening nerves. Vardihi stood and walked ahead of the alien in a motion that said "alright, let's go".

"Can you tell me where I am?"

Nothing. Not even a peep from the creature. Silence always made her nervous, and the way it was staring ahead blankly as they walked didn't help.

"What's your name?"

Still nothing. She shrugged, maybe silence was the creature's way of respect, much like the Japanese. But her father wasn't the silent type, not at all. While the Japanese were naturally obedient, respectful, submissive, and keep opinions and thoughts to themselves, her father was the exact opposite. He refused to go with the flow and spoke without being spoken to. He even tried to get a jury system in Japan, much to the chagrin to his family and bosses.

And that rebelliousness had been passed down to his daughter.

"Where do you live? Are you stranded here too, like I am?"

Sala chuckled; humans were inquisitive little things. He wondered why this human looked so different from all the other humans he had seen and fought with, physically speaking. Maybe their hair began colorful and then became either a brown, black or yellow as they matured. The eyes were different as well.

He noticed that its gaze traveled from his face to his legs, examining them.

Vardihi's brow furrowed. She studied the curious, backward knees of the alien and cocked her head. "How fast can you run?"

"Faster than you," he said.

It nodded and looked into his eyes. Sala saw innocent curiosity in them, and knew that she was harmless. Then, suddenly, the human's eyes widened and the mouth opened in shock, then pointed behind him.

Wondering what in the seven rings this human was pointing at, Sala turned around and checked the vicinity behind him. Nothing.

He heard fast, running footfalls of the human escaping in the opposite direction. Cursing his momentary lapse of focus he chased after the mischievous creature, and in no time he had tackled it, knocking the wind out of the human.

"I told you I can run faster than you," he hissed. "and I also told you than I will drag you to my superior if needed, which I shall do now.'

Vardihi watched as the world spun around her, her lungs felt like they've been compressed into pancakes, her head felt like it was filled with water.

_Goddamn you, Vardihi! Why did you think that was a good idea? Now it's probably going to give me to his leader to ritually sacrifice or something! _

"Human? Can you hear me?"

"...ow"

Confused, the alien narrowed its eyes and shrugged, grabbing her feet and, just as it promised, dragged her along the grass. Vardihi didn't want to think anymore, she didn't want to keep her eyes open.

_Please, God, bring the lightning. _

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The chapter was short, but it's worth it. Stay tuned for more, readers! 


	5. Kagayaku Means To Shine

_Looking for love in all the wrong places _

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**The Hanging Garden **

Another chapter for you all. I'm happy I got constructive criticism from Liramolt, when he/she had every chance in the world to give me destructive criticism.

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**Chapter 5 :: Kagayaku Means To Shine **

The Supreme Commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice stood with his arms crossed, impatiently waiting for 'Otaree to bring the human. He stared at the ringworld's skies for two reasons: to keep watch of enemy ships, and to pass time. It was something he enjoyed doing in his youth, on Sangheilos with-

"Your Excellency!"

He turned, and saw the Unggoy Yayoi, who first encountered the human, waddle towards him.

"Yes?"

"He has returned," a pause, for dramatic effect. "with the human."

"Excellent. Where is 'Otaree?" His golden armor blinded his underling for a few seconds, then watched as he gained his composure and cleared his throat.

"In the camp already, sir."

The Supreme Commander nodded, and followed Yayoi to the center of the camp, where a crowd had already gathered. Over the heads of many Unggoy, Kig-Yar and the two Lekgolo, he saw Sala 'Otaree kneeling over the unconscious body, gently shaking it. A few feet away, he noticed a large, floral backpack settling near a communications device.

"'Otaree, I told you to bring the human _alive_," he frowned as she saw that the human was not moving. "It is no use to us dead."

One of the smaller Unggoy walked over, and pressed his two little fingers to her neck. "I can feel a beat!" Then he gave the loose arm an excited shake.

The human exhaled sharply, turning over to its side. Quite the sleeper.

Sala stood and walked to his superior. "I found it near a body of water. It was surprised, but otherwise non-confrontational and very curious."

"About?"

"Everything." Then, suddenly remembering, he grabbed the Supreme Commander's upper arm and hissed, "She bears the mark."

"The what?"

"She bears the Rose Signet!"

The older Sangheili's breath caught in his throat. No...no it couldn't be! How? HOW?!

"How...how does it have...that ring? The Supreme Commander could safely say that this was the most surprising moment in his career. This human wore the sacred Rose Signet?! First the glass plane now this?

"Wake the human. Now."

Sala nodded, turned and again knelt to examine the human's face. It was hard to place the gender for it, and while it had some features of a female, they could easily be one of a male. The crimson Sangheili noted that if they did not wake the human now, it wouldn't for a long time.

Sala pinched the nostrils closed, and waited.

One one thousand...two one thousand...three one thousand...four one thousand...

The brow furrowed, the mouth gasped, and finally, its eyes widened. It blinked twice, looked at the surroundings, and screamed bloody murder.

Vardihi was frightened by all these new and unusual faces. Here she was, completely defenseless, probably going to be eaten alive! In her panicked state, not thinking clearly, she grabbed a few rocks and chucked them like baseballs at the aliens.

Sala was surprised by the human's violent reaction, and grabbed its wrists, stopping the hysterical creature.

"Human," his voice was stern. "stop this foolishness. We are not going to hurt you."

"You're gonna eat me!"

The Supreme Commander sighed. What stupid simple minded creatures Humans were! "No, human. We are not going to eat you."

Vardihi breathed in deeply and had calmed herself enough to stand. While her knees were weak, she managed to walk to the imposing golden alien.

"Are...you...th-their...leader?" She tried to keep herself as calm as possible. Her voice shook with fear and confusion.

"Human, let me see your hand." Could it be true?

Shrugging, Vardihi gave her right hand.

"No, you imbecile! Your other hand!"

She thrust out her left hand, hoping it wouldn't be cut off. But the golden alien, like his crimson counterpart, grabbed her wrist and brought it close to examine.

The beautiful white rose ring shone in the sunlight innocently. The golden band reflected his face like a mirror.

"Where did you get this?"

Vardihi opened her mouth, but then realized that if she told her story, they would roll their eyes and laugh at her. She wasn't going to risk humiliation.

"I..." she tried to place her words perfectly. "I really don't know."

"You lie! An item so precious and hallowed such as this does not simply fall from the sky! You _will _tell me what you hide, or I shall make your de-"

"Brother, no!" the crimson alien and the golden alien looked alike. Their colors reminded her of her precious stained glass picture of that woman. He golden red hair...her peach face...

She gripped her head, a sudden ache overtaking it. So many things were going on, and she was overwhelmed with it all.

Sala turned to look at the human, its hand on its brow. Obviously the human was startled by all the excitement, and a frightened human was one who wouldn't answer the Supreme Commander's questions.

"Human, what is your name?" It was a good start. The human looked at him and smiled awkwardly.

"My name is-"

Ear-piercing high pitched wails broke off whatever the human was going to say. Every being capable of hearing covered their ears and looked in the direction of the sound.

The seven Huragok hovered too close to the human, all six of their eyes widened, all of their tentacles flapping and waving furiously. And none of them showed any signs of stopping.

Vardihi was frantic. Seven odd aliens were crowding around her, their cries hurting her ears. She desperately looked for help, and tried to push them away, only for them to gather claustrophobically around her.

The Supreme Commander was livid. "'Otaree, silence the Huragok, NOW!"

Sala signed "quiet, please" to the Huragok, but none of them had looked his way. They were concentrated on the human.

Finally Vardihi could stand it no longer, and with all her might she screamed "STOP IT NOW!"

Whatever spell the Huragok were under was broken. They had quieted, backed away from her, but were still close. Vardihi breathed in and out, collecting herself. She nodded.

"Good...very good...stay quiet...no talking...say nothing..." She smiled and winked at them. The aliens were a pearly pink, four tentacles, and six eyes. They reminded her of cotton candy bags, but with malted milk ball eyes.

They hovered in front of her, large eyes blinking, as if wondering what to do. After a few seconds they decided to stay with her, and floated next to, and behind her. Vardihi smiled and allowed one to delicately touch her hair.

A trio of small turtle aliens looked at one another. Then, one of the turned to its left and whispered, "What was that?"

It shook its head vigorously. "Huh, what? Me no hear...kinda."

Vardihi laughed loudly at the statement, then realizing that it could be offensive, covered her mouth and was reduced to trembling giggles until she willed herself to calm down.

The Supreme Commander stared at the seven Huragok, who were now preoccupying themselves with touching every inch of the human. He wondered why they were sent into such a-

_The ring,_ he concluded. _They saw the ring and became overexcited._

"Human, I will ask you again," he stepped closer to the human. "Where did you get that ring?"

"...I seriously do not know." She bit her lip; she hated lying. But that was the least of her concerns now. "I want my glass plane back...sir. It's mine and I want it back."

"It will not be returned to you." he said sharply.

"Why not?'

"You, a human, have created a picture of the Sacred Lady." The Supreme Commander said. The Covenant had used extreme caution not to use His name, or even allude to His existence. The Hierarchs said to be secretive; the Covenant religion was never to be revealed to the Humans. Everything he, and the rest of the Covenant, knew about Him and His life, even His Gods, was to go to their grave.

So how in the Forerunner's name did this human know about the Blessed Woman?!

"Oh!" Vardihi exclaimed happily. "You know what humans look like? Good for you! So I guess I'm not the first one you've ever met. I was going to suggest that I be the self-appointed Ambassador of Goodwill."

The aliens around her gave her faces of "huh?" and laughed. She had no idea what was so funny.

Sala, despite himself, chuckled. The human must've suffered a blow to the head, or was mildly retarded. It furrowed its brow, then looked at him.

"What's your name?"

"I believe you never answered the same question."

"Oh, of course!" She smiled.

"My name is Vardihi."

Silence. Then an uproar. Whispering and yelling, aliens fainting and saying their thoughts out loud. Even the gold alien turned away from her mumbling a prayer of some sort.

"What? All I said was that my name-"

"YOU LIE!" The gold alien whipped around and roared. "How is that your name?! Who named you that?!"

This was impossible. The glass plane, the Rose Signet...and now, by some miracle or curse, this human's name was the most sacred metaphysical attribute of His Holiness!

"M-my father, sir!" she stammered. Wow, one offense after another. Fantastic! "He...he said he was just mixing up letters, and he liked the way that sounded so-"

"SILENCE!"

The Supreme Commander raised his hand and cuffed her smartly across the face. She stumbled and, with the "help" from a Kig-Yar, fell to the ground.

The Huragok screamed their disapproval and one threw a rock at him. The others must've thought that was a good idea, for a few moments later a hail of pebbles rained down upon him. If the Huragok weren't so useful and valuable, he would've slain them on the spot.

Instead, however, Sala stepped in and shielded his brother, signing to them to stop. That he didn't mean harm. The human was safe.

_(Stop. He, no, harm. Human, safe. No, throw.) _

_(Why did he hit?) _signed one.

_(He, confused. He, frightened. Human, offend, accident.) _

They calmed and floated to the human, helping it stand. The Supreme Commander dusted himself off, flicking off a remainder of a pebble. Huffing he turned to the human.

"From this point forward, you are a prisoner of war."

"What?!"

"You heard me," his elder said. "You are to remain here. You will be interrogated, and your belongings searched. I have no idea how you were able to attain so much, but I will promise you, whatever you are hiding will come to the light."

"What war?!"

His troops shook their heads, and turned away from her. Clueless.

"No wait! Please, I have no idea what's going on! I'm lost in all of this! Can someone please give me a clue, or a hint of a clue? Anyone?!"

It crumpled down in a heap, surrounded by no one but the Huragok. The rest of the soldiers were back to their positions, ignoring her cries. Sala 'Otaree saw this, and felt pity. He walked towards the human, knelt down, and shook its shoulder.

"Human, I will help you. Get up."

It looked at him, and sniffled. "W-will you? Please, don't leave me alone...I'm scared. I have no idea what's going on."

This was a perfect opportunity to study human friendships. And this little one was fascinating! The Huragok blocked him, not sure if he would hurt her, like the other one did. Sala singed that he wouldn't, and the human's eyes widened.

"Wow, that is so cool!" then, shyly. "Can you teach me...how to do that?"

"Of course."

"Hey, you never told me your name." she said.

"I am called Sala 'Otaree."

"Sweet name."

"Pardon?" he was confused.

"Oh! It just means that...it's very interesting. What's that gold alien's name?" she pointed to the said alien, who has wandered into his communications center.

"That is my older brother; I will tell you his name when he is not so close.." he said. Sala looked at the human and asked a question he wanted answered. "What...are you?"

"Human."

"No. What gender?"

Vardihi was used to this. Because of her short hair, boyish clothing and gender-neutral looks, she was often confused for a boy or a "he-she-it". "I'm a girl. Female."

Sala's eyes widened, and nodded. The girl had stopped trembling, and she smiled. "I hope we become good friends. And...thanks for not killing me when you had the chance."

It was an odd thanks, but he took it. "You are welcome."

The Huragok seemed to loose interest in the pair, and hovered off to a small grove of trees nearby, snapping the branches and grabbing yards of twine like string. Sala knew that Huragok liked to be left alone while working, and they became agitated when disrupted. He tugged on the girl's clothes, signaling for her to follow him.

She did, and she hoped he would give her the answers she so desperately craved.

He was livid. Angered, his hatred boiling. How could this be?! How did the human acquire the knowledge of the Covenant religion, how was it able to get an image of the Sacred Lady, and how did it get that name?!

That pathetic human was hiding something, and in the safety of his private center, he was able to silently vent. He paced back and forth, going over every transmission he sent to the Hierarchs, his fellow Supreme Commanders, and his mother on Sanghelios. Each one was written cautiously, carefully, in case the humans could intercept the messages and translate them. By the code, they contained no allusions or mentions of His name.

All of them checked out, so how did it know?! Perhaps it was a spy sent by the humans. But maybe there was something...deeper.

Zek 'Erentaree, the Supreme Commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice, was going to find out what.

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Phew! Another re-written chapter done. Glad I got this one out, too.


	6. Fate or Something Better

_And she was thrown into a world that was both old and new. _

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**The Hanging Garden **

Something I found out a few weeks ago: _Salah _means "prayer" in Islam. Odd, seeing as my Sala is part of a religious cult–I mean...organization. And no, I didn't base his name off of the former

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**Chapter 6 :: Fate or Something Better **

"So...what's it like?"

"What is what like?"

She played with the grass, looking up at him. "Having those...jaws."

Sala touched them, unconsciously tracing their shape. He placed an arm on his knee, smiling. "It's the same as you having one set of jaws, girl," he said. "Just..a bit different."

She nodded, and continued to play with the flora around her. The Sangheili turned and watched the Huragok build...whatever they were building. From what it seemed now, it appeared they were building some sort of hut.

He felt a hand on his face, and surprised he faced the owner of the curious hands. The girl was running her delicate white fingers over the mandibles, the eyes. She was inquisitive, interested in everything that surrounded her. Her fingers left his face, and trekked over to his legs, examining his legs closely. Finally her palm was laid upon his chest.

Had it been anyone else, he would've been offended. But this little female was amusing, from her hair to her eyes to her naive personality.

"My, my...God must've had a field day when he created your people," she pressed her ear to his chest. "I hear...a few more beats. More hearts, I presume? Fascinating!"

Even though her words and actions could be counted as suggestive, everything she had just done was out of pure innocence.

Vardihi moved her head away from his chest, and smiled at him. She then noticed the hovering cotton candy bags, and waved at them. "Hey cuties!"

_(Come and see! Look what we have made!)_

_(Yes, we, will, see). _

_(No. Just Vardihi.) _

Sala cringed. He could tell from his brother's reaction to the girl's name that he wanted no one to refer to her as that. The Huragok could somehow read the girl's lips, and since the metaphysical attribute was a favored study by the Huragok (and many other members of the Covenant), they had no qualms of calling her by her name. The way it twisted its limbs to form the word was more graceful than any other sign Sala had ever seen.

"They want you to go with them." he said curtly.

"Oh, okay. I'll see you sometime later, right?" She gasped as one of the floating aliens used its dainty tentacles to grasp her sleeve, and many others followed suit. "Bye!"

Vardihi managed a grin as they pulled her along (more like them grasping her clothing and her just walking in their desired direction), and stood in awe at their creation: a hut made of wood and string.

_(Do you like it?) _the first one signed. It knew she couldn't read, but it mattered not.

"Oh, it's so cute! You guys made this for me? Thanks!" her ebullient comment made the creatures bob with either surprise or gratitude. But maybe they just wanted her to look at it, and not go in. That theory was discarded when one lightly pushed her in the direction of the leaf covered door. It was small, and she had to crawl in it, but it was comfortable.

The seven aliens hovered in as well, the last one in safely closing the leaf. Silence hung for a long time, and Vardihi's legs were getting cramped. She noted that, while there was much room, they were more concerned with being close to her than comfort. And for some reason...that made Vardihi very happy. One trembled with delight, another bleated joyfully. What were they so pleased about?!

Whatever it was, she hoped her presence made it all the better.

* * *

The female's items were being searched thoroughly. Every belonging was carefully examined, placed delicately. Some of them were clothing, and the Unggoy were curious about the...feminine assets she carried with her. 

Zek himself observed this all, making sure that nothing was broken or stolen. The Kig-yar were notorious for seeking valuables and hoarding it for themselves, and the Unggoy...they were just clumsy fools.

Finally, after nothing for the longest time, large books were found. An Unggoy looked through them, and then fainted from either shock, surprise, or both.

The Supreme Commander walked towards the unconscious creature, and picked up one of the books. His claw had picked up at the pages after; nothing but blanks. From what he saw, they were sketches in the book, not words like he expected. But as he turned backwards, he shared the same feeling as the Unggoy had: overwhelming awe.

The pages were filled with drawing of many things sacred to the Covenant: roses, swords, rings (especially Halo), castles, everything a human such as her shouldn't know.

He stopped himself, and remembered how females such as this were: always believing in far off, romantic things. For all he knew, these were just the sketches of a silly dreaming child, one who knew nothing of-

A drawing of the girl hand in hand with Him; smiling, happy, without a care in the world.

Little notes on the top of the page said "someday my prince will come", plain as day. He didn't know why he turned the page, but the instant he did he regretted it.

A well drawn picture of Him and the girl, both dressed in what seemed like ceremony clothing. The girl was in an elaborate white dress, while He was adorned in a gold and silver suit with ruby epaulets. They were kissing below a full moon.

In writing so flowing he could barely read it, he made out the sentence: "Happily Ever After".

He wanted, more than ever, to tear these pages apart. He wanted to destroy the female for even _thinking_ about Him this way.

"'Otaree!"

His brother went to his side, and bowed his head. "Yes, Excellency?"

"Where is the female?"

"She is with the Huragok," Sala shrugged.

"And where, brother, are the Huragok?"

"They are over there-" he stopped, and saw the human girl crawl out of the hut. She lay on the ground stretching her legs until his older brother angrily walked to her. Zek grabbed her neck, almost choking her if not for the rose colored aliens filing out of the hut and plummeting him with pebbles.

Pushing them away, he again turned his attentions to the girl. "What is this?" he was infuriated. The offending female simply looked at him, then her book in his hand.

"Those are my drawings. What's it to you?"

"What is this?" he thrust the wedding picture in her face, dropping it and letting her catch it.

"Oh! That's...my..." she stopped herself. How the hell did they acquire this stuff? "You looked through my backpack, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"You know," she started, trying not to loose her temper. "you always could've asked."

The golden alien growled, and got so close to her face their noses (or...whatever these creatures had) touched.

"What is this, human? I will not ask again. You will tell me _everything_."

"Um..." well, she could tell the truth and risk humiliation, or lie through her teeth. "You won't believe me even if I told you."

She remembered that day; when she met him, when he saved her life. She clenched her book in her hands, swallowing hard. She recalled how he had brought a life into her soul, how his words touched her, made her want to live. Those words were engraved into her heart and soul, and repeating them to anyone would ruin the magic it held.

"You have no right to go through my stuff," she said, finding an excuse. "I packed all those things very carefully, and I'd appreciate it if you put them all back. Thank you very much."

She bowed a little, then proudly marched off with her Huragok following close behind. She sat at the base of a tree, and began to draw with a stick of coal in her sketch pad. The Huragok nestled themselves close to her, and watched.

If there was one thing Zek 'Erentaree hated, it was defiance. And this was defiance at its best. This impudent little child had brushed off a question he asked , and was now drawing some other romantic vision while the Huragok practically suffocated his view of her.

What madness was this?!

It was either the child was mentally ill, or was stupid.

* * *

Vardihi paid no mind to her surroundings, just her drawing. The floaty aliens purred as she furiously drew sketches of them. They were black on yellowed paper, and she wished that she had some pink to bring out their precocious nature. But for now it was satisfactory. 

"Say, what are your names?"

The first one signed, (_Flies, For, Fun.) _The others followed suit.

_(Heavier, Than, Stone)_

_(Almost, Like, Wind) _

_(Easy, To, Float) _

_(Far, Too, Ample) _

_(Not, Quite, Weightless) _

_(Just, Like, Feather) _

She laughed and tried to make sense of their sign language. Try as hard as she might, no dice. She shrugged and nodded, and said, "Sorry, I...I can't understand."

_(That is alright,) Almost Like Wind _signed. (_We understand. But you will learn.)_

"Oh, how I wish I knew what you were saying!" she sighed. "But, can you understand me?"

They all bobbed, which meant 'yes'.

"Well, that's a slice of good news. Is there anyone who can...sign your language?"

_(That kindhearted Sangheili can, but he is quite poor at it. But we dumb ourselves down for him to understand. Go ask–oh, nevermind! Follow us!) Easy To Float _grabbed Vardihi's sleeved with his tentacles, and the others did the same. They lead her to Sala, who was studying her "unmentionables" in a curious way.

_Just Like Feather _repeatedly poked him until he turned. Sala embarrassedly tossed the underpants away before speaking to her. "Yes?"

"Sala, do you have any idea what these lovely creatures are saying?"

He stared at the Huragok before answering. "I'm still learning their language, but I can translate and speak enough to get around."

"Can you help?"

"I will try."

_Far Too Ample _tested this by signing slowly to him, each movement deliberate and cautious. Finally he dropped his tentacles and waited for Sala's reaction.

At first he stared at the ground, before answering. "It likes the drawings you did, the only problem was that you forgot to color it."

Vardihi kneeled over her things and took out her colored pencils. She flipped to the page with the portraits of the Huragok, and filled in the blanks with stokes of pink and purple. Soon the pictures were finished, and the seven gave a squeak of approval.

_Flies For Fun _was the eldest, and thus the "leader" of the other six. He was the one who had curiously wandered into the conversation between the brothers, and discovered the glass relic. To his delight the others were just as excited, and also expressed a desire to meet the creator behind it.

He gave Vardihi a delicate pat on the head with a tentacle, in a "good girl!" sort of way.

_Heavier Than Stone _began to feel a hunger pang, and hovered over the girls' items in search of food. He rummaged through some items before pulling out a large burlap bag.

"Oh! You found my Snack Sack! You hungry, little dude?" she inquired. All he did was bob.

Quickly she took it from her friend's tentacles and fished for something that they would like. Her eyes lit up as she discovered her prize: konpeito!

"What are those?" Sala said, as she opened the bag and poured some into her hand.

"These are called konpeito, but I call them sugar stars." she replied.

It was true, they did in fact look like stars. More like lumpy, colorful stars made of pure sugar and maybe a flavor here or there.

Each of the floating creatures took one, and ate them in one bite. Instantly they squealed in delight and grabbed more. Vardihi plucked a red star and handed it to Sala.

"Here, try. It's really good."

It was quite obvious why she chose a red star; the color of his armor. To satisfy both his curiosity and the girl, he put in into his mouth and liked the slight berry taste to it.

Seeing the enjoyment in his eyes, Vardihi smiled, then frowned. "Say, what are you?"

"You mean, my species?"

"Uh huh." she handed him another, this time it was white.

All humans knew his species by one name: Elite. And while it was appropriate, he and the rest of his ilk detested it. If there was one thing that he disliked about the Humans, it was their habit of naming things that already had names. So it was to his delight (and bewilderment) that she did not know them by "Elite".

It was with great pride that he told her their true name. "We are called the Sangheili; the proud warriors of the Covenant."

"Sangheili...that sounds so pretty! It sounds like the name of a sun god." Vardihi brushed the loose strand of hair out of her eyes, then decided to release the corset knit hair that made her look so much like a boy.

She fumbled a few times, and within five minutes her waist length magenta hair came tumbling down.

Sala had to look twice at the girl as if he'd just seen her. She looked over at him curiously, and handed the bag of sugar stars to the hungry floating creatures. "What?"

"How did you do that?"

"Do what?" Then she remembered. "Oh, my hair? Well, my hippie foster parents taught me how to lace my hair up so I could...look more like a boy." She didn't tell him why; the truth was she wanted to look more like her Prince.

"Why?"

"Because, I just did. Now, what are these floaty things called?"

He saw the human girl wanted to change the subject. "They are called Huragok."

"Awww," she cooed. "How cute!" Vardihi nuzzled _Far Too Ample, _much to the jealousy of the others. They again crowded around her, wishing for her affection.

"Okay, okay! I'll take care of you all," she laughed. "Everyone calm down."

They did, and each got their share of her warm face upon their little heads. Sala watched and smiled; such a naive and foolhardy child.

Vardihi enjoyed the loving attention she was getting, and was happy that she had made new friends in this odd and unexplainable world. But something made her think, something made her wonder, and she was somewhat disturbed by it.

The voices were oddly quiet.

For now.

* * *

I highly believe that the Forerunners gave the Huragok genders; the only way to find out is if you had technology as advanced as they did. 


	7. About a Girl

"_There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes is so." _

_-William Shakespeare_

* * *

**The Hanging Garden **

Here's my two cents on the Forerunners: they lived in a utopia, where peace, prosperity, and everything good was ripe and rampant. Wars and crimes (of passions or otherwise) were nonexistent; they had bigger things to do than worry and kill over petty things, and they had their honor. Everyone knew everyone, everyone loved everyone, everyone respected everyone, etc. Their homeworld was a Jupiter-sized planet called Kokuin, and it beat Earth any day.

* * *

**Chapter 7 :: About a Girl **

In the hut was were she found her quiet time. Since her arrival at the alien encampment, everywhere she went she was met with stares and smirks, especially from those bird looking things. She noticed that three of the turtle things looked at her, while she and her Huragok were snacking, with some sort off odd hunger. Not for sex or food, but for love, or something akin to it.

And since the Huragok took a sudden liking to her, they went wherever she went, which included the hut, in which they huddled closely around her, protectively, or something.

"Hey, girl! Are you in there?" the high pitched voice came. _Far Too Ample _jumped with surprise.

"Who is that?"

"Guess..."

"Uh...the little guy who ratted me out to the others."

"You can say that. Come out now!" he exclaimed.

She crawled out of the hut and looked in the eyes of the turtle creature. Vardihi smiled and got to her feet, then extended a hand. "I think we should start again," she said.

Confused, Yayoi stared at her pale hand. He wanted to say something smart to the girl, but the gathering Huragok behind her made him think twice; he didn't want to be hit with rocks. So Yayoi retained a blank stare.

"You shake it."

"Why?"

She was a loss, before remembering. "Well, on my planet, a long time ago, when two men met, they extended their hands and shook them so that the other knew that...they were kind and sincere!"

He grabbed her hand and, as she said, shook it furiously. Then, not sure if that was how one "shook", he swung their arms to and fro.

Vardihi giggled and managed to wiggle her hand out of the creature's grip. "What's your name?"

"Yayoi." he said.

"Oh, such a nice name!"

The Unggoy was startled by the girl's flattery; he wasn't used to such kindness. He was used to being kicked around and commanded, but 'Otaree was kind and wasn't harsh. The Huragok, well, they didn't do anything. They ignored anything that wasn't a Forerunner artifact, a Prophet, a broken item, or anything they should be worried about.

"Did you need me for anything?"

A shadow was cast over the Unggoy, and Vardihi looked up to see Zek's golden self. _Flies For Fun _played with a rock, just in case.

"Yayoi, did I not tell you to bring the Human to me immediately?"

"Y-y-yes...sir." he trembled. Zek, when angered, was fierce and terrifying.

"And why is she still here? Did you not speak to her?"

Vardihi knew what this was: Zek was baiting the little creature in hopes of him giving a wrong answer.

"Sir," she said. "You are here now, so...we can do whatever you wanted to do with me. I'm interested in what you wish to speak to me about."

Zek stared at her in mixture of irritation and quizzical awe and her eagerness. She seemed to either not be afraid of him and saw no reason to be, or she wasn't well aware of the dangers of annoying an already aggravated Sangheili.

"Yayoi," the Supreme Commander murmured. "You may leave us. I must speak to the girl alone."

"Y-yes sir..." he waddled away, thankful he was far from them.

The girl inhaled deeply; this Sangheili didn't like her one bit, and she was afraid that he might loose his cool again and knock her head off.

The Huragok must've sensed something inside of her, because they huddled closer to her, and refused to go anywhere else.

Zek cleared his throat and began: "Human, you have in your possessions items and symbols of our most glorified and secretive religion. No other human has this information. You are the only human who knows of Him, and your drawings portray him perfectly. "

He thrust his face close to hers, words dripping with malice.

"Why?"

"Because," she chose her words carefully. "I...just do."

"Insolent being...you know something," he paced around her, and for a moment the girl thought that he would snap her neck from behind. "You're keeping something from me that I, the entire Covenant, must know."

She smirked and turned around to face him, a bold look of defiance in her eyes as she leaned close to him.

"Why?"

"Because," he grabbed her by the throat. "I. Just. Do."

The Supreme Commander gave a sharp squeeze that cut off her breath for ten seconds. It was short to him, but an eternity for Vardihi. The Huragok threw the largest pebbles at him, squealing in horror and fear.

It wasn't the pebbles hitting his face that stopped him, it was the look of absolute terror on the little human's face. He'd seen death, he'd delivered it many times over to earn his ranking, but seeing this girl...he stopped and let her drop to the ground, panting and gasping.

_Flies For Fun _took it upon himself to grab some water for his mistress, but he was against leaving her side. After a few seconds, he hovered away quickly and seized the bottle of water, returning in record time.

Slowly Vardihi got to her senses and gratefully chugged down the liquid.

"Remember, girl," Zek said. "You cannot hide this from me forever."

Her only response was a cough, and a few choking words. "It's...personal..not..your business..." Why was everyone flipping out over a man she met?! A man, for that matter, that every human brushed off as a hallucination? But she knew, she knew that he was real. He touched her face, soothed her with his voice. He wasn't just her imagination; he was real.

"I will continue interrogating you, girl, until I get the answers I desire." with an arrogant snort he walked away, leaving her to lay on the grass.

Vardihi undid her shirt to expose her heart-shaped locked, twirling it in her fingertips, carefully playing with the chain. Even now she was still amazed at the beauty of the ringworld, so immersed with staring up at the curved highway she almost didn't notice the heavy sound of hooves trampling the grass to her. Vardihi glanced up and saw Sala, who appeared to be smiling...but she couldn't know.

"Enjoying the view?"

"Yep," she said. "This place is so mysterious, so beautiful. Someone needs to make a poem about it."

"I see," he nodded, then looked at the golden locket between the pads of her thumb and forefinger. "What is that?"

"Oh, this?" she sat up and allowed him to take a closer look at it. "It's called a locket."

"What is its purpose?"

"Well, some people carry around pictures of deceased or estranged loved ones, others keep a laminated droplet of blood in it, and some put locks of hair. It's purpose is to remember."

"What is inside yours?" Sala asked. He wouldn't have ben surprised if it actually recorded conversations.

"A picture," she opened it. "of my parents."

She unclasped the locket and showed him the colored picture of her loving parents: both standing side by side, wedding rings gleaming, smiling, happy.

"My dad's name is Baramiya Yoshiro and my mom's name was Erika Amherst before she married." she said it blankly, then walked away to her items.

She took a large leather bound book and opened it. "These are all my foster parents, see? I took a picture of them the day I met them, and I put them in this book."

Then, with as much emotion as a person reading a telephone book, she pointed them out. "My first fosters were Michael and Fiona Whetmore. Fiona was infertile, and she adored me. I was with them for about seven months before they shipped me off again.

"Here's Joseph and Diana DiMaggio, the second. They weren't the best, in fact I'm sure they didn't like me. But they sent me to a nice art school where I was able to polish my artistic skills, so I guess I owe my A's in Art to them. I also stayed with them for seven months.

"Next is David and Caroline Kulick. They had about, oh, eight other kids when I got there. Apparently they were burned by the loss of too many kids they cared about, and were basically estranged from me. Funny, even though I tried to make friends with everyone, the fact that I could hear voices freaked them out too much–"

"You can hear voices? What do they say?" Sala said, startled. Vardihi glared at him, the Huragok equally annoyed that he had rudely disturbed her history.

"I'll explain everything later, I promise. But don't interrupt again, got it?"

He nodded again, and when she moved to the nest set of these, "foster parents", her eyes moved from stony to a warm softness.

"This is Aaron and Ursa Freeborn, my favorites. They were hippies in the sixties and seventies, and they loved their style so much that kept it. We lived in a little house by a lake where we would pick flowers and go swimming in the summer. They helped me to dye my hair," she pointed to her magenta locks, "and Ursa taught me how to tie it tighter than a whale-boned Victorian corset. But not tight enough to make me go lightheaded. At first it was hard; took me an hour on the first tries, but now I can knit it in about fifteen to twenty minutes! I was with them about fourteen months."

The happy glow in her eyes then dimmed to a hard, icy teal as she looked at the next picture.

"Peter and Jezebel–I mean, _Jessica_," she spat the name. "The Porters. Peter was a cop, dedicated and honest. The most hard-working man I ever met, outside my father. He would come home and say the kindest things to me. Jessica...well, she was a royal pain in the ass. She's pile chores on me that were rightfully hers, for gifts she'd give me something old and dead while happily saying how she was _so _generous, and that she'd get a new one for herself. If I got a single 'B' on something Jezebel would have herself a fit on how I'm lazy and stupid."

She stopped herself, gritting her teeth against all the awful things she wanted to say about this woman. After deep breaths, she calmed down. No, Jessica Porter was gone now, and she'll never see her again. Why make a big deal out of something in the past?

"The last ones were Theodore and Amy Wallis. I think they don't like me, but there were times when they were kind to me, but it was out of pity. I tried, honestly. To be good, to not cause a scene or embarrass them."

She close the book and placed it back in it's spot, her voice and eyes still that cold look, but they seemed to be thawing, and he was correct. A moment later she was crying, frantically smearing the tears away.

"Is it customary for children to be passed from one set of parents to the next?" he asked, curious.

"Nope," she said. "My parents were killed."

He said nothing, and for a time she just sat there, trying to think of anything but crying, closing up her locket and buttoning her shirt.

"Sala," she said.

"Yes?"

"What are their names?" she pointed at the Huragok.

The seven little creatures looked at Sala expectantly, knowing that he wouldn't know, yet hoping he would.

"Honestly, I couldn't tell you," he said. "Like I said before, I only know enough to get around, and that isn't enough."

_(Just as I suspected!) Heavier Than Stone _huffed. _(It is quite typical of the Sangheili; too busy fighting to even care about studying and such!)_

_(Please! Do not speak that way,) Not Quite Weightless _eased. _(I am sure that the Sangheili study, just not of our language. Give the species credit when it is due.) _

_(I will, once they earn it.) _

"What are they saying?!" Vardihi said excitedly.

"Well, the first one–"

_(Heavier Than Stone!) _He bleated, frustrated.

"–was, is, angry at...my lack of understanding of their language. The second is easing him. I think. That is all I know."

"Alright then," she said. "I don't blame you. Language isn't my strong point either. I wanted to learn Japanese and Gaelic, those are my parent's languages," she added the last part after seeing confusion on Sala's face. "But you'll learn, just as I will. Just tell me what you know, so I can make out what they are saying."

"Do you not want to communicate with them?"

"Apparently they can either hear me or lip read."

_Impossible! _He thought. _The Huragok are practically deaf! How can they..._

Then he remembered how quickly Huragok learn things, and he decided that they were slowly learning lip-reading.

"I only know limited things, girl, but they are useful."

"Just tell me what you know, and I can improvise."

"Before I do," he said seriously. "Tell me about your voices."

* * *

"Yes, Supreme Commander? What is it you wish to speak with us about?" an impatient mauve coming from the most regal.

"I have discovered a rather interesting, yet disturbing, case. It seems that a human–" nervous yellow, speckled with peridot.

"_What?!" _vibrant yellow from the eldest.

"Yes, a human is here. She claims that she (her words, not mine), fell in a well." quizzical cornflower blue, and a slight smirk upon the Supreme Commander's face.

"Why isn't she dead?" a bored pale green from the youngest of them, stifling a yawn.

"I would've killed her on sight, if not for her name and–" a blocked crimson.

"We could care _less _about her name. Kill her now." Blood red, with a flick of an uncaring hand.

"Noble One, her name is Vardihi." Pure white, without a speckle of any impurities.

Silence. Nothing but stony, shocked silence. The three Hierarchs looked at him with unbelieving eyes.

"You lie." a putrid, disgusted tone of bile green.

The red Hierarch curled his hands into fists of rage and disgust. A human , on the sacred ring, and bearing that name?!

Zek didn't know if telling them anything else would send them flying into an uproar, but they were mysterious and calm creatures; he hoped he had nothing to worry about.

"But that is not all, Holy Ones." an unsure tone of red-green tourmaline.

The faces on his superior's said, "PLEASE, tell me this can't get any worse," but their voices forced out "Tell us...anything else,"

He took a deep breath, then said, "She bears the ring. The Rose Signet."

The youngest in his powder blue robe wanted to resound with his sour yellow note, and disrupt the age old concert of calm. The eldest, wrought with both surprise, ache and old age realized that this girl was more trouble than she was worth. He quieted the youth with a look of "say one thing and you'll never see the light of day again."

The, "middle child", was cloaked in fresh blood red, his slender fingers curled into trembling fists, eyes closed in order to compose himself.

He wanted, more than anything, to lash out and _feel_ his own anger.

"Anything else?" the words lay like splattered anger in the air.

"Yes..."

He showed the pictures, the stained glass portrait. Each bit of information was like someone stabbing a salty dagger into their hearts. It seemed like torture, torture that He would afflict such agony.

"We have heard enough today, Supreme Commander," the eldest said. "Come back to us when you have...found more information."

"No, we will see for ourselves. Where is 'Otaree?"

"With the girl," he said. "They've become close, and she treats him as if she has known him since birth."

"Then all the better; bring him here."

Nodding respectfully, he stepped outside and saw the girl and his brother talking, the Huragok watching carefully, making sure no one thought of any ill intentions.

"'Otaree! Come here now!"

Sala said something to the girl, then walked with his brother into the communications center.

"Yes, your Holiness?"

"Sala 'Otaree, we bestow upon you the temporary rank of Ossoona. You will record every conversation and action of interest of this child." the eldest looked into the Sangheili's eyes, and saw that he wasn't willing to betray his newfound friend's trust. "This is a great honor, 'Otaree, you will help the Covenant cause."

"I...yes, Noble Ones," he stumbled, "Before I take my leave, may I ask a question?"

"It depends on what kind of question, Ossoona," the youth in powder blue said, then after receiving a look from the scarlet robed Hierarch, continued with, "You may ask."

"Why are we fighting the humans? What have they done against us that requires them to be eliminated to extinction?"

If Zek 'Erentaree was any less of the Sangheili he was, and Sala wasn't his younger brother, he would've strangled him. No one questions the Prophets will in their presence.

The looks on their faces were unreadable, but they had an afterglow of hidden sorrow, of hatred. To save both his own honor and his brother's dignity, he cut in.

"Noble Prophets, please excuse him; his time with the girl has–"

After seeing Hell in the three High Prophet's eyes, they cut off the transmission, leaving Zek stunned and embarrassed for his brother's sake.

"What is wrong with you?!" Zek hissed. "What possessed you to ask such a question?!"

"I was curious," he shrugged. "We have never gotten a straight answer from them on why, and I was hoping–"

"To what? Get an answer? You fool, never again will you question their plans, or so help me Dios I will kill you myself!"

"Yes, brother...I understand."

* * *

In the silent Chambers of the Hierarchs, the Prophet of Truth stared at the glimmering purple hallways lined with Honor Guards.

"You want to know why we despise them, 'Otaree?" he said to himself, loud enough so only he could hear. "They are the Fourth Children."


	8. Watching and Learning

'_Cause I'm a million different people from one day to the next _

* * *

**The Hanging Garden **

This chapter goes into the background of Aa and Un, and also Ai, Yuu and Kei. Next chapter will probably go into Zek and Sala's background, and the background of the Prophets as well.

* * *

**Chapter 7 : Watching and Learning **

Sala adjusted the small camera on his shoulder, making sure the button-sized piece of equipment blended it just right with the crimson of his armor.

He felt as if this was a great betrayal, and it was. He had gone on his whole life never lying, betraying or leaving anyone, Unggoy or otherwise, behind. He earned his rank at (what he believed) a high cost: he would never be able to communicate with, or even study up close, a human. They were all against the Covenant, and even if they were to stumble across a band of them, they were to be killed; no exceptions.

But she was one.

And he was going to betray her trust by videoing her every move and word against her will.

"'Otaree, you may proceed; the camera is working now," his brother said.

"Yes...Excellency." he sighed.

"Please tell me you do not feel guilty about this," Zek growled. "She means nothing, and_ is_ nothing without the information she has. You are to obtain it. This is not as if you were spying on me or any other loyal member; she is a human, and that should be enough."

Without saying a word, Zek's younger brother walked out of the comm station and back to the girl who was now attempting to understand what the Huragok were signing.

For as long as he could remember, even before their days as Supreme Commander and Veteran, Sala was loyal and honest to everyone. He noticed his younger brother was enjoying his talks with the human child, while other Sangheili would've found it annoying. Perhaps Sala was curious about the abominable species, and saw this as an opportunity to study them up close without the fear of the weaklings shooting and screaming obscenities at them.

Speaking of which, why was the girl so...placid and calm around them? Why did she not fear or cringe at the sight of them? The girl didn't even know them by (Zek spat on the ground) "Elite". She must've suffered a blow to the head, or was placed here after years of isolation in an experiment by the Humans. Or, more likely, she was a human spy here to play dumb and extract information from unsuspecting Covenant soldiers, hoping to use the fact that she was a child against them.

But that still didn't explain her knowledge of His existence.

* * *

"You look weird,"

Sala snapped out of his reverie and looked at the girl before him, teaching the Huragok how to play cards with the oddest sort of pictures on them.

"As in...what?"

"As in you look anxious. Did Zek chew you out for talking to me? Or did he tell you to go buzz off and leave the magenta-haired girl to wonder about stuff?"

"No, he didn't. We were talking about something..." he heard the sound of the camera zooming in. "...personal."

"Oh, okay–HAH! I win again!" she triumphantly laid down a few cards, and while the Huragok didn't understand why or how she won, they gave disappointed bleats of defeat.

"It's okay, little dudes. I'll teach you some more."

_(Please do!)_, said _Far Too Ample_. _(This seems like a fun game...maybe we could bring this to those poor Unggoy. They look bored and scared most of the time anyway.) _

"So you really don't know their names?"

"No, I do not."

"Aww, crap." she sighed, then looked at the seven Huragok. "Then I'll give them names."

He was stunned into silence; humans have no right to name anything. Before he could rebut her, she stood and walked over to her items, and took out seven rainbow ribbons.

"I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to give you names, since Sala doesn't know them. As soon as we do, I'll call you by that instead, okay?"

_(We do not mind at all,) _signed _Flies For Fun_.

She tied the red ribbon onto _Flies For Fun_'s right tentacle, and called him "Ur, that's your name now, okay? It means 'fire'."

_Heavier Than Stone_ was given an orange ribbon and was called "Zephon. It means 'one that sees'."

_Almost Like Wind _had a yellow ribbon tied on her, and was now known as "Anah. 'One who answers.'"

_Easy To Float _was given a green ribbon and now named "Levi. 'Associated with him'."

_Far Too Ample _had a blue ribbon, and was given the name "Kenaz; that means 'this purchase'."

_Not Quite Weightless _was given an indigo ribbon and was called "Chenani. It means 'my pillar'."

_Just Like Feather _received the final purple ribbon, and was know called "Rekem, it means 'diver's picture'."

"You've given them...odd names." Sala said, looking at the decorated Huragok. "Did you make them up?"

"Nope, they're in the Bible; that's the Christian holy book." then, with some joy, "The Torah is the Jewish holy book, and the Koran is the Muslim's! Those are the three Abrahamic Religions, started by a man named (no duh) Abraham. The Bahai'i religion is the fourth, but many don't know that..."

She rambled on and on about these, "Abrahamic Religions," adjusting the ribbons on her Huragok. She spoke without a hint of stopping, occasionally glancing over at him for an answer or reaction. He was enjoying her nonstop talk about her religions. Then, by some odd turn of events, as she was approaching the crescendo of her speech, she was silenced in a peculiar manner.

Vardihi stopped dead in the middle of her discussion, her smile faded, and her eyes widened. The voices returned.

_I lift my hands from touching you  
__To touch the sunlight immortally blazing over  
__The dreaming castle so imaginary and wonderful  
__Upside down to echo your beauty  
__The silver ocean over Earth sweeping you into graceful madness. _

"Human? Are you alright?" he shook her shoulder, hoping for a reaction, but she continued to be mute. Was this an act? It couldn't be, her eyes looked blurry and he could barely hear her breath. She shook her again, but still nothing.

Finally, he leaned close to her ear, brushing way her long hair, and whispered, "Vardihi."

Something inside Sala 'Otaree broke down: it was the wall that was put up between him and...Vardihi. He no longer wanted to refer to her as "girl" or "child".

The moment he said her name, she snapped out of her spell, and looked at him as if she had never seen him before. Blinking more times that he could count, she looked at her Huragok and pat them.

"Voices," she murmured. "You wanted to know about my voices?"

"Yes," Sala said awkwardly.

"Well, it's a long story. They don't tell me to do anything; they sing to me. When I was a little girl, and I got scared, they would sing to me. Even if I wasn't scared, they would still sing. And of course, the doctors got wind of this." she smiled sadly. "You say 'I hear voices', they say 'schizophrenia'. Or that you're crazy. No one ever takes the time to reason, just judge."

"How long has that been going on?"

"Since the day my parents died," _after I met __him__. _"I bet your species would be a bit more understanding."

He said nothing. Just stared at her. The Prophets were possibly (no, they _were_) watching this, and they heard him speak her name.

"Vardihi," he said, more to himself than to the girl, experimenting.

"Hmm?"

"Your name," he said, realizing he was caught. "It's...a sacred one. Sacred to the Covenant."

"Can you do me a favor? Tell me about this Covenant. Maybe my species can join," she said. What a naive child. Sala nearly heard the Prophet of Regret snorting in disgust on the other end of the camera.

"I am afraid your species won't be joining the Covenant anytime soon, Vardihi," he liked the feeling of liberation saying her name gave him. It was no exaggeration of falsehood that she was a rara avis; kind, benevolent, no idea what she had even gotten herself into.

"May I ask why?"

"Well, we have been–"

Before he could enlighten the child, a squeal of terror was heard from the far side of the camp. Vardihi sprang to her feet and ran towards it, with her Huragok following her.

Sala was curious about what she would do; the appalling sound was coming from the youngest members of the regime of troops.

Vardihi barely had any chance to catch her breath when she saw three tiny Unggoy curled into little balls, obviously trying to protect themselves against...

...two giant bird-things?

"Jesus. Alfred Hitchcock, eat your heart out ," she mumbled, then strutted forward. Man or no man, it didn't matter; no one beat up anybody smaller than them just because they felt like it. One of the bird-things had bright, flushed plumage, the other had calloused plates on its head. She presumed that one was male and the other female.

"Yo! What the hell is going on?" she shouted, hands on her hips. The bird-things stopped and looked incredulously at her. "Yeah, you heard me."

The bird-thing with the calloused plates dropped a rock from behind its back (Vardihi knew that it was going to hit the small Unggoy) and walked to her.

"You want to say something?" the voice was feminine, and Vardihi nodded.

"Yeah, I do. First off, what's your problem? You have such itty bitty egos that you have to go around beating up innocent passerbys just to feed the need?" she felt powerful, for some reason. "You may have beaten up these little Unggoy before I came here, but no more, parakeet!"

"Excuse me?!" the male shouted. "What are you–"

"Silencio bird-man!"

"This wasn't your business, human," the male sneered.

"When shit like this goes down, I _make _it my business. You have no right to do this to these babies...or whatever," she shrugged.

"You know, girl, under normal circumstances, we would beat you to the ground...and actually," she balled her hands into fists. "I believe this is a very normal circumstance."

The bird-things didn't even get a chance to throw a punch; the Huragok were already giving off keening wails and throwing rocks at them. Vardihi watched as the two were chased off and gave her dirty "we'll be back" looks. Of course they'd be back. But for now she should take care of the quivering Unggoy huddled not far from her feet.

"Hey, are you guys okay?" she knelt down, and was startled to have one of the little creatures cringe at her touching its tiny head.

_(They seem alright,) _Flies For Fun signed, _(I see no significant damage. But perhaps I may be wrong.) _

_(I would not be surprised,) _huffed _Heavier Than Stone_, _(Your medical knowledge is as vast as the Sangheili's signing skills.) _

_(Oh please, it is not as if you know any more than I!) Flies For Fun _would not take any disrespect from the blunt Huragok. It was true that none of them knew anything about medical things, especially when it came to noticing a wound. They were created to assist and exist; that was their motto.

_(True, but we should not argue; it increases stress and that is the last thing we need.) _

Vardihi knew very little about the exchange, only that they were at odds, and Anah was busily gathering some sweets for the little ones (though she reluctantly left her side). "Good idea! Maybe they'll respond to that."

Sala was surprised. Normally when the Kig-yar harassed and/or hurt the Unggoy, no one said or did anything. But this little girl took it upon herself to defend the triplets, almost as if it were a calling. A curious thought overcame him; what did it say about the Covenant, if they merely watch as their members are harassed, and a human girl saves them?

Vardihi took another chance and pat one on the head, and this time it squealed it delight. She took the macaroons from Anah's tentacles and handed it to them; they were delighted at the mere sight of food.

"They're so precious," she cooed. "What are their names?"

"They are triplets. In the order of their birth they are Kei, Yuu and Ai." he pointed to the one with the respective name, identifying them for her.

"They look really young, Sala. Why are they here?"

"The Covenant needs soldiers. Unggoy are perfect cannon fodders as they reproduce quickly. These little ones are the sons of their clan's matriarch."

Vardihi didn't like the way he said it; he seemed too passive, so dismissive. It was as if that the Covenant had done this before.

"You guys okay?" she asked. They nodded, and looked at her inquisitively.

"You hit? You hit us?" Kei asked. Vardihi smiled.

"No, I won't hit."

"No kick?"

"No kick."

Ai took a deep breath and waddled close to her, then embraced her leg in an hug. She melted and pried the littlest one off of her, then knelt, allowing them to crowd her.

Ur and the others floated near them, shooing away the triplets from her; they were afraid that she would pass out from lack of oxygen.

_(Away! You will suffocate her, should you continue this!)_ _Just Like Feather _signed. _(That is the last thing we need, after so much searching.) _

The triplets moved away and waited for the Huragok to throw rocks at the, just like they did the Kig-yar.

Vardihi made a soothing gesture. "It's alright, Rekem. They're cool with me." They backed down, but reluctantly. She wondered what they said, and why Sala looked at her oddly.

Sala normally was lost to the Huragok when they were trying to communicate with him, but this time, somehow, he understood exactly it had said, and it baffled him. Both the fact that he could comprehend, and what _Just Like Feather _had just signed.

'_That is the last thing we need, after so much searching'...what could that mean? _He thought. _Could this child– _

"Hey, Sala?"

He shook himself from his thoughts to address the girl. "Yes?"

"Who were those two? Those...birdy things?" she scratched her head. To her they were the missing link between dinosaurs and birds, and for all intents and purposes, that's what she decided they should remain as.

"Those 'birdy things', are called Kig-yar. The two in particular are named Aa and Un. Aa is the male, and Un is his twin sister."

"Twins? Is Aa older?"

"Believe it or not, neither is older or younger. They are the same."

"Impossible!" she cried out.

"To you, perhaps."

* * *

_Twins were rare in Kig-yar culture, and clans had different opinions on them. Some clans believed they were harbingers of disaster and ill news, and once laid they were smashed. Others believed that they were the heralds of good luck and times of prosperity. _

_Jer's, had lost her first clutch of eggs after those dreaded Unggoy had forcefully pushed her away from a long favored spot of her ancestors. Her heart broke after she had felt no life twittering withing those mottled eggs, and she had nearly given up on ever having offspring again, to protect herself from spiraling into a suicidal depression. Her mate, Sey, would hear none of it. _

_They tried again, and to their joy she had conceived, and during the laying they discovered that there was only one egg, as opposed to the desired seven or nine. A single, large egg meant only one thing: twins. It also meant that, once a twin-egg is laid, the female will never lay again. So it was Jer's wish and only hope that this time, the fruit would grow instead of rot. _

_The short time passed, and soon the spotted egg was due to be hatching. To Jer's immense joy, two little Kig-yar broke their way into the galaxy and onto the fertile earth. They peeped and chirped with the unpleasant sensation of the cool air and hunger. Seye was relieved that his mate had finally bore him offspring, and he could finally rest knowing that she hadn't failed him. _

_Yet the joy of the twins quickly faded in less than a week; their breathing had started to slow, and they were lethargic. The Kig-yar healers said that they were dying from low blood and were given seven days to live. _

_Jer was beyond comforting, and Sey had become a recluse; his only way of coping with the oncoming loss of his children. _

_The chicks were put by San'Shyuum doctors in a room for the dying, a statue of The Lord of All Cosmos in a praying position over them. The pungent incense would've been discomforting to the chicks, but they seemed almost immune to the smell. Jer visited, and each day it seemed that her chicks were getting thinner, weaker. They spent their time in the room asleep, only waking to yawn. _

_At last the sixth day approached, and now, more than ever, she needed a miracle. Like most Kig-yar, she and her mate weren't keen on the Covenant religion. The moments that were reserved for auspicious services in His name meant nothing to them, and considered nuisances to her clan. She considered it ironic that now, when her children were dying, she believed in the Faith. _

_Her prayer was clumsy, but her best. _

"_Lord, you know that this isn't my way, or my people's way. You know that the Kig-yar aren't loyal servants to your cause. Even so, please, spare my children, let them live. If you do, I promise on my mother's blood that I will be a devout worshiper 'til the day I die, and I will teach my children of you as well." _

_As she bowed her head, she noticed that the male had thrown his right arm over his sister's shoulders, and to her amazement, the female doing the same. They woke for a moment, looked at their mother, yawned, and fell asleep. _

_She left the room, hoping for the best. _

_The seventh day came, but instead of silent corpses, the chicks chirped loudly for food and attention. Upholding her end of the bargain, Jer kept her promise. _

* * *

"So why did those two beat up three innocent little babies?"

"It's been going on for as long as I can remember, in the Covenant." he watched as Ai tugged on a clump of magenta hair curiously.

"Alright, then stop them." she said.

"Can't. It's just part of the natural order of things."

Vardihi looked incredulously at him. "That's a load of bull if I ever heard one. Sometimes there is a need for change, Sala. And this is one of them. How would you like it if your partner beat the living crap out of you?"

Sala thought about the arrogant brutes the Jiralhanae were, and decided that while the girl was right, he wasn't about to get into an argument about what was right and what was wrong. The Covenant ways were vastly different from the Human ways.

"Tell me more about your...voices, Vardihi." he said, trying to get as off topic as possible.

"Ah yes...my voices," she sat cross-legged. "I already told you about them right? No matter, I'll just tell you again. My voices are basically either a trio or a solo, meaning that it could be three voices or just one voice. If there _are _three voices, I have already given them names; the low voice is Alto, the high voice is Soprano, and the voice in the middle is called Diva. Most doctors see the fact that voices only sing to me a good thing, seeing as most voices tell people they should kill people or themselves.

"Interestingly enough, they only sing one song to me, at random times. Sometimes I could be in the middle of basketball practice–"

"What's 'basketball'?"

"I'll explain later, but sometimes I'll be in the middle of sports and they'll sing, I could be in the middle of dinner, homework, class, anything. Then I somehow become paralyzed; their voices are all that matter nothing else."

"Just like before," Sala noted.

"Yes. And one last thing..."

"Human!!"

It was Zek's voice, and he sounded pissed. Vardihi rolled her eyes and stood, dusting herself off and reluctantly stepped forward to face the Sangheili. She noticed that Aa and Un stood behind him, arms folded and sneering at her.

"Yes?" she said wearily.

"They have told me vexing things about you."

"What kinds of things?," she said.

"They have told me, that you interrupted–" Zek cursed to himself.

"–them beating the living shit out of the Unggoy. Yes, that was me. And yes, I'm proud of it." She was truly a vexing and arrogant creature.

He leaned in menacingly, their faces nearly touching. "Human, you do not know the ways of the Covenant, and you also do not know how things operate." In truth, he could've cared less that the petty Kig-yar had been put in their place, but the fact that the human girl had been involved (and he was already in a sour mood) made it seem personal. No human ever gave themselves the right! His eyes looked at the hovering Huragok, toying with rocks. Zek noticed that they had brightly colored ribbons on their tentacles.

"What is this?!" he said, approaching _Flies For Fun. _"What this is _hedonistic garbage_?!"

His loud voice scared _Far Too Ample_, causing the Huragok to smack him with the rock. It bounced off his helmet, and only angered Zek even more.

"Take those off of them, human. _Now_."

The Huragok (perfectly comfortable with their decorations), gave him a piece of their minds by nonchalantly tossing the remaining rocks at him.

"Never gets old, does it, Rekem?" She giggled and pat _Just Like Feather_.

_The human even gave them names?! When they most certainly already have ones! This human is more trouble than she's worth..._

"Well? Aren't you going to stab her or something?" Aa shouted at his superior, snapping him out of his thoughts. "All I'm seeing you do is staring at her! Pummel her into the ground!"

At this, Zek turned to face the pest and hissed. "Do I even need to remind you of your place, Kig-yar? You will remain silent as I handle this situation!"

"And, then after you handle it, you will stab her?"

"If she persists. I will be more than glad."

"How about right now?"

"No."

"Please? The human insulted Un. And I cannot have that."

"She had insulted many; you are no special case."

Vardihi took this chance and slowly walked away, the triplets, her Huragok following behind her to the hut. Sala stood outside of it, watching his brother and the male Kig-yar bicker and negotiate.

She tied her hair back, noting to put it back into her boyish style. She looked at the little ones in front of her, sitting expectantly in front of her. The Huragok had relaxed and even hovered around the hut for a while. She looked at the triplets, and wondered how old they were, and where the mother was. Was she alive? And if so, did she miss them?

* * *

_Meimei sighed, then glanced to look at her offspring. Triplets, to be exact. All males, all tiny little things craving for food and love. She was happy that the labor had been essentially quiet and quick; the pain was another thing. _

_The youngest nuzzled himself close to her, and the others followed suite. They knew their mother, at only seven minutes old. _

"_Don't get too comfortable, Meimei." _

_She turned and saw one of her underlings; a companion and close friend. Kaka waddled close to her friend, thankful that neither of the females were burdened by the Methane Tanks that were required outside of the methane fields of High Charity. Her Matriarch looked _

_She turned and saw one of her underlings; a companion and close friend. Kakaw waddled close to her superior, thankful that neither of the females were burdened by the Methane Tanks that were required outside of the methane fields of High Charity. Her Matriarch looked grim, yet pretended to not know what she meant. _

"_You know they're going to take them away soon. You know it. I know it. The whole clan knows it. The Sangheili will be by in a few–"_

"_Kakaw_..._" she whimpered. "Do not remind me. Please. Let me just be with my offspring, at least for a while." _

"_I want to change it, Meimei. I really do," Kakaw said. "But the Covenant need more soldiers, and even my sons and daughters were taken from me. You remember Bemeb, my mate. You know how he died. He's in paradise now, you know. With Him and all His Gods in their heavenly glory. My children have had children, and__ their __children have had children. I'm a great-grandmother, and I'm sure that they don't even remember my face–" she stopped, realizing she was only making things worse. _

"_My dear friend," Meimei murmured, holding her sons. _

_As promised, the Sangheili came, and took away her offspring before her eyes. Kawak could only watch as her Matriarch stifled tears in front of the warrior. When he left, she could hold back no more. _

"_Don't worry, Meimei...He knows what He is doing. Trust in his judgement."_

"_You don't think I know that?" she wept. "I know His plans. He has a plan for me, for you, for them. I know_ _that He will not forsaken us. I know it." _

* * *

"Do you know where your mother is?"

They looked at her as if they had no idea what she had said.

She pressed further. "You know, the girl that gave birth, to you, who made you? Where is she?"

Yuu shrugged. "We no know. We pop out of ground. Nobody make us."

_I can't believe this! _She thought. _This is absolutely disgusting! How old do the Covenant take the young of others to train? Possibly__ too__ young. _

She felt pity for these Unggoy, pity that they never knew a mother's warmth. An urge seized her, and she felt that if something thing this unjust must happen, she must take responsibility for those who had suffered.

"Well then, since you have no mother to speak of...I will be in her stead."

They looked at her quizzically, and she explained that she would be their adoptive mother, meaning that they were to call her "Mama" and she would always be there for them the way their mother should've. Vardihi thought about their real mother, and what she would say to her impromptu decision. Would she be grateful? Or maybe insulted.

Vardihi had little time to really think deeper into the subject before two strong hands lifted the hut off the ground and exposed the group to the sunlight and a very angry Sangheili. Zek tossed the remainder of the hut a good three feet away from them as the Huragok went insane with anger; if there was one thing the Huragok utterly despised, it was having their work taken apart.

They screeched in despair and anger, then after nearly deafening the parties around them, fell silent. They had nothing left to say or do.

Zek and Vardihi locked eyes, and she held the triplets close to her. The girl thought herself noble, she thought herself an aegis, but Zek knew the truth about this human scum.

"Interfere with the Kig-yar no more, human. Their business is their own." he then trudged off, leaving the Kig-yar twins to stare after him in a "that's it?" sort of glare.

_(Our work!)_ Bemoaned _Almost Like Feather_. _(That Sangheili had no right! No right at all!) _

_(It was a good hut, I believe. The best that had ever been in creation!) Not Quiet Weightless _sighed.

They suddenly stopped as a thought popped into _Heavier Than Stone_'s brain, and was shared by the other six. It was a sort of telepathy; one thought of something they wanted given out (without anyone else who was outside the matter knowing), and the idea spread to the desired recipients. The Huragok signed and did nothing as the thought echoed in their minds, they dulled down. It was a beautiful afflatus.

The Huragok bobbed in agreement, then picked up the twigs to put in a pile. Un and her brother strutted forward and the female pointed a finger in the girl's face.

"You got lucky, human. _Very_ lucky. Next time it won't be like this, with you unscathed. It will be you, on the ground, half dead."

"And we'll make sure to break the finer details of the human skeleton; I hear wrists and hands have bones that have no names. I'll be sure to break those first."

They smirked as they walked away, leaving seven Huragok, three Unggoy, a Sangheili and a human girl stupefied.

"What the fuck just happened?"

* * *

Vardihi stared at the Kig-yar twins chattering amongst many of their own kind. There weren't many, and they treasured these moments. It hadn't been long since she had adopted the triplets and had earned the disgust of the Kig-yar twins. But things had calmed down, and she hoped that she could make amends. She held her hands cupped in front of her.

She took a deep breath ,and approached the twins as the Kig-yar group dispersed to their own sections of the camp. Un caught her first, and chattered in her own tongue to her brother. They looked at her distastefully, and looked warily at her hands.

She began, "Look, I know I said some things, and you said and did some things, too. So you're not completely innocent either."

Two low growls stopped her from saying anything else that might jeopardize both her safety and her armistice.

"Anyway, I'm hoping to start again. A clean state. To show you that I come in peace, I offer these paper cranes."

Vardihi held out her hands, and in them where two light powder blue paper cranes. The twins were confused, and looked at her as if she had grown another head...or three. Aa picked one by it's pointed tail and simply nodded. Un, seeing that it wasn't anything harmful, did the same.

"So...we good? Are we friends now?"

"I believe you mean to say, 'are we good?'. Correct human?" Aa examined the crane. "How did you do this?"

"It's called _origami_. I learned it. Can you tell me that we're good?"

Un chortled. "No. No we're not."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because! You are a human, and humans are the devil." Aa the added. "And mainly because you've gotten on our bad side. Thank you for the paper birds though."

They started to leave when Un stopped to face her. "Oh, and human?"

"Yes?"

"We're still going to beat you senseless when the time is right. So be on guard. Or, to make things fun, don't."

With that they walked off, showing the paper cranes to their peers, who looked at them with both amazement and disbelief that a human made them. What made them laugh and gasp what they were made to be a gift of friendship.

Vardihi stood disgusted before storming off to Sala. "Good. God! What a couple of sentient bird droppings...for lack of better terms"

"Well, what did you expect from the Kig-yar? For them to forget your past sins and move on so that peace may between both parties?" he chuckled. "No. The Kig-yar will more likely shoot you and loot your body for valuables to horde and sell than be your friend. You have to do something _big _for friendship."

"So, they're going to kick my ass soon?" she sighed.

"Yes."

"Ohoho...great."

* * *

In the Council Chambers, the three San'Shyuum Hierarchs watched stupefied as the girl saved Unggoy babies, sheltered them, stand up to a superior officer, and then foolishly attempted to make peace with the Kig-yar. When her offer was rebuffed, she looked both pained and confused. What child was this? To actually think that any Covenant species was willing to be friends with a human!

"She is...exceptional. I will give her that." The Prophet of Mercy nodded. "So unlike other humans. In both behavior and physical characteristics."

"Exceptional? Well, she _is _exceptionally stupid. And exceptionally ugly as well." The Prophet of Regret said. "Such naivete will eventually get her killed."

"Killed, but preferably not." The Prophet of Truth said, breaking off whatever regret would say next. "She knows something. Something about our God. Whether she is a Human spy or not, her secrets must be known."


	9. People are People

_We love Him because He first loved us.  
__1 John 4:9-10 _

* * *

**The Hanging Garden **

This chapter is my best so far in the re-write. This is a long one, contains subject matter concerning religion, God in a positive light, God in a negative light, God as a physical being, and many other things concerning God in general (actually, that's my story in a nutshell). It also has some glimpse into the Prophet of Truth's personal life.

This chapter is dedicated to Azmaria, who supported me in times of great stress, unhappiness and writer's block. You are the only one who can see the swan behind this duck. quack!

* * *

**Chapter 9 : People Are People **

Vardihi lay on her back, enjoying the sight that once frightened her: the immensering that began and ended where she lay. The Huragok had disappeared somewhere, and one of them usually came back to check up on her. Her triplet were playing a few inches from her, tumbling and cooing as she would gaze at them.

She was suddenly seized with an urge to draw the magnificent ring, and stood from her grass bed to her strewn-about items, where her sketchbook and art tools lay. Her backpack was cast aside, dirtied with stains of the earth. Huffing she propped it up and managed to shake some of the dirt, but most remained. Oh well, nothing can be done now.

Fetching the sketchbook and pencils, she returned to her original laying spot and began to draw. Occasionally looking to her left to see how her adoptive children were, the drawing came out lovely. She beaconed them to her, and they were in awe at how well she captured the beauty of Halo.

Well, to an Unggoy point of view, she did.

She felt a tap on her shoulder, ("Hey.") and turned.

A Kig-yar male looked at her. Glad that it wasn't Aa fulfilling his promise to kill her, she stood and faced him. "Is there something you need from me...?"

"Fak. My name is Fak."

"Ah, well, yes. Is there anything you need, Fak?"

"In fact, yes. There is something I need." he said. "Those...paper birds you gave them. I want one."

_Oh, so they're a status symbol now? _"Why?"

"Because those two are showing them off and bragging. I want to put them in their place."

_Yep. They are. _"So you want one to show them that they're not special." she nodded. "I like that. Come with me."

The triplets looked warily at Fak, and she stopped him. "First: are you going to hurt them?"

He rolled his eyes. "If I was here to hurt the cannon fodders, I would've done it already."

"So I can relax at the fact that you are not here to say that Aa and his bitch sister are coming to get me?" she questioned.

"Yes, human, you can."

"...good. Follow."

she walked to her things, taking out the myriad of colored paper that she used before. "You know, I have many different colors." she looked at him. "Take your pick, Fak."

Staring at the delicate paper, he chose a rather simple one: lime green with daisy patterns.

"Why did you pick that one?" she asked.

"It looked the prettiest to me." he said. "Now, are you going to do it, or what?"

"Easy bird-man. I can do a lot more than a simple crane. I can do...flowers, animals. Not everything, but enough."

"You mean, you can make _anything _out of paper?"

"Yeah...I can. Well, I can't make a cure for cancer out of these, but I can ease the suffering of those with it. I can make something better than a crane, Fak. I'll make something special for you." she smirked as she imagined the look on their faces.

* * *

Un delicately flattened the paper tail of her bird, looking at it the way she usually did: with extreme inquisitiveness. The human girl wasn't what anyone expected, she was kind, thoughtful, and seemed to believe that everyone was naturally good. Then, again, she was just a child, a baby by their standards. She wasn't afraid of them, and wandered around as if she fit well with them.

Most of the Unggoy considered her a goddess, mainly because she didn't try to hurt them or alluded to their low status and intelligence as a blot upon their characters.

Hmm, something was unsettling about the girl. Very unsettling.

She was about to speak to her brother (who was fiddling with the crane suspiciously) about the subject when she felt a hard poke upon her calloused shoulders. Irritated she turned and saw Fak, and a huge grin she felt like smacking off...simply because she could.

"What do you want?" she hissed.

He said nothing but lifted his left hand to show the female his prize: a paper rose. Aa immediately caught sight of his sister's displeased face, and was curious about what she was ready to blow a gasket over, when he, too, saw the paper rose in his peer's hand.

"Let me guess..._she _made it for you, correct?"

"No, I learned how to do it myself." he snorted, then at the incredulous looks of the twins he sighed. "Of _course _she did!"

"That little..." she carelessly dropped her crane onto the grass before stomping over to the girl. Just to spite her, the freak was making more paper things, and showing the little gas suckers how to make them.

Vardihi was happily making a paper butterfly for Kei when she was grabbed by the collar and slammed onto the earth by Un. She saw death in the Kig-yar female's eyes and knew that his maybe be the end for her.

"Why did you give him that?!"

"Huh?"

"WHY did you give him that paper flower?!"

Vardihi breathed in quickly, and realized that Fak must've shown it off. She mentally kicked herself for playing with fire, and she had predicted this sort of outcome. The Unggoy triplets were scared into silence by Aa, who had now just accompanied Un's side.

"Well..." she said. Honesty wasn't the best idea now, but her brain had chosen to be silent on the creative side. "I wanted to make you mad."

_Gee, this is going to be delightful. _

The next thing she knew, she was dragged cruelly by her long hair to a small lake, and her head was submerged under the water. They were making their killing of her as painful as possible; they decided to drown her by laying her on her back and bending her neck as far back as possible, allowing water to flood into her nostrils faster.

Her mind raced, and the anxiety of oncoming death nearly choked her more than the water. Finally she felt the hands around her neck relax, and let go. With all her strength she pushed herself upwards, gasping and choking. Her long hair making her uniform uncomfortably wet.

Vardihi looked up and saw Sala berating the twins, them sulking and walking away. She couldn't hear what they were saying; she was coughing too loud.

He walked up to her and put his hand on her head. "Are you alright?"

She spat out water. "Yeah...I guess I am."

"Well, it's a good thing you aren't dead. Do you know why they did that?"

Vardihi had no explanation. She was stupid, they were stupid.

"They were being children...that's all.." she managed to say. "Just drop it."

"I see..." he murmured, and as he was advised, dropped whatever questions he had. She stood and wrung her hair dry, only to have her Rose Signet caught in one of her tresses. With a frustrated grunt she yanked it away, then winced as a few strands were pulled from her scalp onto the green grass.

Her hair was now a rat's nest of knots and tangles, and that made her fume. But Sala was outside of that quagmire that she had dug herself, and did not wish to burden him anymore than he already was. Instead she perked up at the sight of her triplets waddling towards her, and embraced them lovingly. She had to be happy, for her sake, for their sakes.

She noticed Yayoi slowly walking towards her, and bowed his head, either to look at the grass or in respect. "You stood up to them," he said, almost awestruck. Almost.

"Yes, I did." she responded.

"Why? No one, not even the Sangheili would stop the Kig-yar from tormenting us, if you excuse me, your Excellency, I mean no disrespect or impudence." he bowed.

"You speak the truth, Yayoi. I harm none for doing so." Sala said.

"As I was saying: you stood up the Kig-yar, you held your ground, and you have no fear of them. But my point is this: why do you have the need to do this?"

"The need to help others? It's like a second instinct." she said. "I love helping others, and when I see someone in peril, something takes over and I just...well, go for it. I'm a human, an ephemeral life, but I want to make my legacy one that others can find hope in."

Sala was struck dumb by the eloquence of this winsome child. She appeared to know more than her age allowed her to be.

"Hey, Sala," she said. "What's so special about my ring?"

She lifted her hand, and pointed to her Rose Signet. The artificial sun danced upon the opalescent petals, the diamond sparkling in the rays.

"What _isn't_ so special about it?" he said.

"Well, it's pretty, and that's all I know." _and the fact __he__ gave it to me. _

A part of Sala wanted to smack her for her ignorance of the most holy item, the other wanted to laugh out loud. But he reminded himself that, even though she possessed many items associated with Him, she did not know Him truly.

At least, that's what he thought.

"In time, I will tell you everything." he simply said. "Now is...not the time."

"Why not?" she huffed.

"In time, Vardihi. In time. Be patient."

She sulked on the cool grass, none of her Huragok with her, and only Yayoi, the triplets and Sala accompanying her. And to make things worse, the water had been dutifully soaked in by her uniform, making her wearing it uncomfortable. Vardihi wrung her hair again, the moisture seeping from between her fingers and onto the grass.

"I need to change my clothes. These are soaked. Completely bleeping soaked!" she mourned as she stood and sulked her way to a plastic bag of clothing. Inside was her favorite red and white striped dress. Without thinking, she unbuttoned her top before she realized the footsteps behind her.

Sala and the Unggoy were watching her as if she would preform a magic trick.

"T-turn around." she said, accenting it with her finger spinning.

"Why?"

"Beeecaaause...I'm undressing."

"Oh. Well, we're seeing nothing new." Yayoi shrugged.

"Well, _I_ don't want you to see me half naked okay?! I'm really self-conscious here. Now, you can turn around or I can cause trouble."

"It's better that you do not cause trouble. We'll turn around." Sala said.

The triplets seemed disheartened by their new mother's command, and reluctantly obeyed. After making sure that they weren't peeking over their shoulders, she quickly undressed and threw the dress on her. She gently pulled the chain on her locket and allowed it to rest on its usual spot.

"Okay, you can turn around now."

"Fast!" exclaimed Kei.

"Yes, very fast." she played with the damp sleeve of her uniform. "Did you know that I made this uniform all by myself? It took nearly a week to complete, but I did it. By the time I was done my hands were covered in poke marks from the needles!" she laughed. "They're healed now, but it hurt like a bitch."

"Mama?" Yuu piped up. He had been wanting to say something for a while.

"Yes?"

"What does, 'efemerl' mean?" he pronounced the word awkwardly, not quite grasping it. Yayoi sighed and shook his head. For an Unggoy, he was one of the very few who was intelligent enough to understand what many of his kind would consider beyond them.

"It means, short living, not lasting." he said. Then, looking at the triplet's blank responses, he sighed again, more deeply, and Vardihi giggled at their ignorance. "Take a rose, for example. A rose will stay in bloom for a while, but it doesn't last forever."

"Oh! You have roses?!" she was excited.

"Yes...we have roses." Sala smiled.

"No. Way. So I guess the lovely flowers are galaxy wide, I suppose."

What Sala neglected to tell her was, the roses weren't truly theirs. They had first been introduced by the San'Shyuum, who had only pictures of them at the time. They had spoken of the beauty and elegance of the rose, yet none of the other Covenant races had ever seen one...not until the Jiralhanae discovered them on a Human colony. They brought the sacred flowers to High Charity, where they had been reveled in since. The most holy and sacrosanct of them all were the immaculate white roses, which were only to be cultivated by San'Shyuum and the Hierarchs. Anyone who wasn't either of them were punished severely.

"In a sense, yes."

"Now that's amazing. Seriously." she shook her head, smiling. In a sense, she was beyond amazed at the fact that they, the Covenant and the Humans shared something. And this something could bring both of the together!

"Vardihi?"

"Hmmm?"

"May I see your drawings?" he asked.

"Of course!"

He hoped this would distract her from any questions; she was not yet ready to hear the gruesome and unflattering answers, and possibly see what kind of art she drew of His Holiness.

As he had suspected, she was happy to show off her artistic talent, and proudly showed off her works, especially her self-portraits.

"This one was drawn on a late afternoon when I was only eleven. It not only conveys my feelings about war, but also my own personal turmoil." It was a simple picture of her, smiling half-heartedly with a melancholy glint in her eye. In the background were silhouettes of war, famine, plague and death, but a small ray of sunshine peeking from the grey clouds.

Every picture had a story behind it ("What picture doesn't?" she said), and every picture was crafted to perfection. Yayoi and the triplets were impressed, to say the least.

Sala noted that his older brother was partial to artwork, and was also a skilled artist. He wanted to tell his quaint companion that, when something distracted him. It was another self-portrait of the girl.

The picture was vastly different from Vardihi; the hair was short, cropped to the neck, the hair a light brown, and her eyes a dark blue.

"This looks nothing like you, Vardihi." he noted, yet still liked it.

"That's a going away gift I made for a girl I knew in the sixth grade; her name was Leslie Armstrong. She had five or six cats or something, and then she moved to Florida. Last I heard she was in North Carolina." Vardihi sighed. "She was so good to me; and her parents were riots. Especially her father."

"She sounds very nice," he commented.

"Well, she was a real sweetie; I loved her." Vardihi smiled broadly. Yayoi and the triplets looked at her quizzically. "Oh! I mean as a dear friend."

They looked relieved, for some reason. "Hey, Sala."

"Yes?"

"What's so important about this giant ring?"

Now they had entered another thorny subject, and Sala needed to distract her as much as possible. Some things should never be spoken, or revealed. And he wanted, for as long as God shall grant it, for this child to remain unknowing of everything.

"Never mind that, Vardihi. Show me more of your pictures."

* * *

It was no secret that all San'Shyuum despised the Fourth Children, the Humans, and had long sought out them for the purpose of exterminated them. Long before even knowing where they were, they had begun a vast, near galaxy-wide search for them.

Many long years passed before they found their hated rivals. And now, locked in a bitter war, they somehow prevailed when they should've died like the dirty rats they were.

Deep in the Council Chambers of High Charity, many eyes gazed hatefully at the holographic screen near the entrance to the violet hallways.

She laughed, she smiled, she showed her artwork, she was unlike anything anyone had ever seen before, and it somehow scared them.

"This one is something I did when I was bored, and surprisingly it came out magnificent, more than I hoped for." she admired the picture before showing it to her audience. The Unggoy were fascinated with her art (the Councilors merely snorted as such narcissistic craving for attention) and even a murmur of approval could be heard from their Ossoona.

"I like this one," they saw him pick up a picture and hand it to her. "What's the story behind that one?"

"I drew it on a rainy day. I was bored." she collected and placed it in a folder, then after thinking for a time, took it out and handed it to him. "You can have it."

"Thank you, Vardihi."

Many San'Shyuum Councilors said nothing but seethed at the sound of her name. Some crossed their arms and shook their heads.

A Huragok suddenly appeared in their view (it was _Heavier Than Stone_) and was poking at the folder curiously.

"Alright, Zephon, you can have a look." she said, and watched as the creature shuffled through picture after picture, making small excited squeaks.

_(Very nice!) _He signed. _(It seems you have not forgotten anything! It is a great relief to me. I will tell the others of this.) _In his excitement, he dropped the folder. The Unggoy were scrambling to pick them up, and the girl neatly arranged them.

The Huragok (to the chagrin of the entire council, had been named "Zephon") was picking them up faster than the simple Unggoy, and also assisted in the indexing of the pictures.

Out of all the beings in the room only three despised her the most.

The High Prophets of Truth, Mercy and Regret sat glaring at the screen as if their gazes would bore holes into the girl herself.

Here they had publically "introduced" the female to the rest of the council, and–it must be confessed–they were bothered by her lack of knowledge of the war, and her being so comfortable around them. Murmurs circled around the council, until the folder in the girl's hands fell, once again being scattered everywhere. She gave a frustrated sigh before picking them up again, but the Ossoona saw something that caught his eye.

"Vardihi, what is that?" he pointed to the half covered picture in a book before she gingerly picked it up and examined it. She looked as if she was going to simply shut it tightly, but the

Huragok had looked at it, and gave a very loud squeak of either joy or fear. It was enough to make the Sangheili yank it out of her hands to see for himself.

It was the picture of her and the Prince, in marriage garb, kissing.

Never had the council been in such an uproar. The sounds of San'Shyuum and Sangheili councillors screaming and howling for the girl's blood. How _dare _she even think of this?! This was an outrage! A disgrace! If this didn't prove that the humans were vermin, nothing did.

Oh, how hearts break in times of immense jealousy.

"Silence!" In a rare show of anger, Mercy pounded the armrest of his throne with a tight fist. "I demand silence!"

Begrudgingly the councillors quieted, and as they resumed their seats, a hearty laugh escaped the Ossoona.

"Ah, so you _do _know who He is." he handed the book back to her, and she quickly closed it, almost ashamed.

She mumbled a "yeah" and shoved the book in her pack. "I'd...rather not talk about it."

"Why not, child?"

"Mainly because I just don't. He means something special to me, and explaining it to others would ruin the magic of..." she trailed off. Frustrating little brat.

"Yet you want to know more about Him."

"Every time I say what happened, they laugh and tell me I was hallucinating. They tell me that I have post-traumatic schizophrenia and that He was just a mirage. That's why...I tell no one about Him." she didn't look at his face, only the grass. _Heavier Than Stone _bobbed a response and patted her head reassuringly.

_(You do not need to tell anyone anything. You need time, that is all, before you remember everything.) _He gave another little bob (more like a bow) and left.

"Sala...I'm going to take a nap. I'm kinda tired, and I need to weave my hair." she stood and walked away to a nearby tree, sat on her knees, and began to separate her hair into separate sections before the Ossoona knelt to pick up the pictures she had discarded. When he looked at the girl again, after a time, he saw that her hair was, indeed, woven in the same style when she first arrived. The girl had fallen asleep, and the Unggoy triplets followed suit.

This was enough for now.

No sooner after the link was cut did the councillors again break into a riot. They all stood in their seats and shouted, much to the High Prophets's disdain.

"Silence! All of you!" Mercy was truly disturbed by the girl's picture, and his angered demeanor betrayed the hurt in him. "Sit and be quiet!"

But they did not. Instead a Sangheili councillor shouted, "What will you do with this succubus?!"

"Kill her and be done with this madness!" A San'Shyuum councillor stood, and the entire council hollered in agreement.

Regret sighed and spoke, "Unfortunately, killing her is not an option. Think of the intel this child has!"

After a moment of doing so, a groan emitted from the councillors, and dejected they sat back down. Yes, killing her would indeed destroy all the secrets she hides within her puny and thin frame.

"She knows of the Prince; and the foul picture she drew proves that she is knows what He looks like." Mercy looked hard at the councillors, "The signet ring she wears shows of her bond with Him."

"But how," said someone. "How does she know?"

"That is something that she is withholding, and something that must be revealed." Truth, who had remained quiet until now, finally spoke. "She seems to be a mixture of awed, touched, and hopeful every time He is mentioned."

"The most logical assumption is that He appeared to her," a Sangheili councillor, deeply unsettled by this strange turn of events, muttered. "But how, and why?"

A sardonic smile spread across Truth's face. Oh, if they only knew.

"Something for all of us to ponder," the smile never left. "Tomorrow, we will get more information on this human from our Ossoona; we must all be patient."

"Speaking of the Ossoona, High One, he seems to be becoming more and more enthralled by her," said a veteran Sangheili councillor, "Do you not think that this will become a problem?"

"Sala 'Otaree knows his place, and while it is true that he expressed some sort of misplaced sympathy for the human filth, he would never, in his wildest imaginings, ever think of defying our word or betray the Covenant for the girl." Mercy said, but inside he worried about the same thought.

A San'Shyuum chuckled. "Fortunately our Supreme Commander has more sense than the Ossoona."

This discussion would've soon turned into a debate, had the Hierarchs not interfered.

"That is all for today. The Council is dismissed."

A low grumble was heard from both Sangheili and San'Shyuum. There would be no doubt that every councillor would go to bed discussing this curious creature.

More so with the High Prophets than anyone else, though.

* * *

Truth hated it when he returned to his chambers angry, it wore on his nerves and usually it would build inside his skull, transforming it into a migraine.

His Miluna, Leeloo, was waiting for him at the edge of the bed, playfully weaving thread around its tiny, chubby hands. "Rough day, Malkuth?"

"Yes, very much so." the Miluna were like that: always knowing without you even expressing the emotion.

The Miluna were sacred to the Covenant; they had a sixth sense, and always knew when Forerunner artifacts were, no matter where. Their eyes were usually squinted closed, but should an artifact be close, their eyelids would snap open, and they would dance joyously to the location. While it was blasphemy to admit, without them or the Huragok, the San'Shyuum would've been helpless.

They were the most favorite of companions of the San'Shyuum (and previously, the Forerunners); their light weight and short pudgy stature made them easy to carry around. Two floppy ears decorated with their signature colors, and the red or blue gem that donned their heads, and their high pitched voices made them all the more irresistible.

The pudgy creatures were either Soel or Larg, essentially white or black. The Soel's colors were white, red and pink, lighter and more playful that their counterparts. while the Larg's colors were black, green and blue, signifying their trickster nature. At the height of one foot, and weighing almost three pounds, they were easily carried and played with.

During the San'Shyuum civil war, the Miluna began to grow tired of watching their friends fight over something so trivial (the Miluna were completely unable to understand the concept of war and hatred, so intense were the peace and tranquility they lived in). During a rather heated battle, the Miluna hid themselves in the Forerunner Dreadnaught, where they hoped to remain until the war died down. Unfortunately, when the creatures were discovered missing, it only heated the bitter debate even more, family and friends further blaming each other. It was almost three months later when the Reformers rediscovered the Miluna, and without a second thought left their home planet.

The full community of Miluna lived in a hallowed and secured valley, known as the Meadow of the Miluna. No Covenant species would ever think about intruding on the peaceful creatures, though the Miluna would say otherwise. Occasionally groups of the younger creatures would venture out and bond with a San'Shyuum; both of their long life spans made it possible to grow old with one another.

Leeloo shook its hands free of the string, and waddled close to its bonded. "Alright, what happened?"

"It is that girl..." he murmured, really not feeling all that up to talking about her.

"Oh! Her!" Leeloo squealed. Yes, it knew of the girl, and was more than eager to meet her. Since her existence had been made known to the Hierarchs, and Truth confining in his companion how frustrating and irritating she was, Leeloo had become fond of her, which made it even more vexing.

Malkuth Hatziel was a reasonable and logical man, and no criticism or praise could ever depress or elevate him. It almost seemed that he was made of stone, he hid his emotions so well. Yet Leeloo, and his three concubines, would say otherwise.

His being on the Roll of Celibates was something that had, for the longest time, never bothered him. He had heard many times, as an adolescent and an adult, by family friends, strangers, and even admirers, how unfortunate it was that someone as handsome and intelligent as he was on the Roll. He would've had the most beautiful children, and would've made a female very happy. Here they would shake their heads and sigh. Such a tragedy.

It never once bothered him. Never once. And then...

Almost seven years after becoming Hierarch, deep in the core of his very being, the stir of wanting a child began. It was a slow process, beginning with indifference to his status on the Roll, to the sudden, unexplainable desire of wishing for a child to call his own. He had no brothers or sisters, (though Mercy was the youngest and only male in the family of five girls, and Regret had a younger brother working as a missionary) as his parents were advised to not have any more children. Why make more people who are not going to make more people?

Now he knew, when they confronted the Prophet of Restraint, when he held his head, gritting his teeth, "Someday you will know..."

"What of the girl now?" Leeloo jumped happily, interrupting his thoughts.

"She is selfish," he hissed between clenched teeth, remembering the picture. "She cares only of her own needs and wants."

"That is honestly something I cannot believe. I have heard the rumors of her, Malkuth, everywhere." Leeloo stopped jumping and sat. "They say that she is kind, and generous, and you even said that she adopted those Unggoy triplets as her own. I highly doubt that she is selfish. What makes you think that?"

And he spoke of the picture. He would've rather left the painful memory to rot in a corner of his brain, to forget it. But the memory was stubborn, and it continued to pester him.

Leeloo, in its eternal innocence, merely shrugged. "Then that makes her even _more _special, Malkuth. You should reconsider your hatred for the Fourth Children because of the girl. And, by the way, you have never told me her name."

He attempted to numb himself, but failed. "Her name is Vardihi."

Leeloo's little mouth opened in what would be registered as shock and awe. "Amazing! See, Malkuth? She is practically your sister and–"

At the word "sister" Malkuth slowly turned his head and glared menacingly at his companion. A moment of silence, and Leeloo threw caution to the wind.

"You know what I am about to say next."

"Unfortunately." he sighed.

"You know that they are not as different as you think they are, or make them out to be. You share the same genetic memory, as you are both Children. For all intents and purposes, you and her are siblings."

"Stop it,"

"When you found who they were, after so much searching for them, you jumped at the chance to eliminate them all, simply because of their so-how-called 'major transgression'. You know as well as I do why He left."

"Be silent," his voice was wavering, a sign that the Miluna was getting to him.

"No, I will not. You are murdering your own flesh and blood! Yes, the San'Shyuum have a countless millennia old grudge against the Fourth Children, but you can abandon this single minded hatred! You can somehow erase the hatred that all San'Shyuum carry for them and build anew! Malkuth, the survival of your very self depends on it. The survival of the Third Children depends on it. You can continue you hate them–"

"I would rather do that than _ever _stop this war." he hissed. "This war is bigger than me, Leeloo, bigger than you, or anyone else, bigger than the Luminations. I am fulfilling the promise and the threat the San'Shyuum made to the Fourth. This is a culmination of years and years of searching for them. They must pay."

Another moment of silence, and many thoughts raced through both Prophet and Miluna mind.

"But why, Malkuth? Why do this?"

The Prophet of Truth gave a half-hearted sardonic smile, then murmured. "I am one of the Third Children."

* * *

An hour passed, then another, and Malkuth still could not sleep. He ruled out insomnia after the first hour, and realized that he was either simply not tired or the little speech Leeloo gave him was beginning to sink in.

He ruled out the speech.

It must be the girl.

That _stupid _girl.

How dare she. How _dare_ she keep him from sleeping. On a night that he needed sleep the most. He ought to have her executed for this. It was funny, how even light years away she haunted him.

Well, a little brat like her was likely to do so. He pounded a fist lightly on the soft sheets, desperate to think of anyone but her.

She must be doing something. He couldn't let her get away so easily just because she was tired. He wanted to know her very thoughts, and once they were known he could finally purge her.

With a furious kick to the sheets, he managed to (but with much difficulty) walk to his resting Gravity Throne, and gather his garments. He angrily tapped the controls on his armrest to the Council Chambers, where he could have access to the Ossoona's recording.

He stared out of the dark, dimly lit hallways to view the half-slumbering High Charity. It was fairly late, and his two partners were asleep in their respective chambers. A simulated breeze rustled the holographic, diamond shaped leaves of a metallic bark tree, near the Gardens. He stopped to gaze at the said Gardens, and an almost wistful sigh escaped him.

Malkuth was thankful that the Council Chambers weren't far, he didn't know if he could last as long before sleep finally caught up with him.

He tapped keywords into a computerized receiver near the entrance of the chambers, and waited for the screen to materialize. The girl would have to be awake by now, or she was a lazy slug of a child.

In his thoughts he pictured what the girl was doing: playing with the Unggoy, getting into a fight with th Kig-yar, annoying the Supreme Commander but pleasing the Ossoona in some way. Speaking of which, what _did _the Ossoona see in her?

The sound of heavy footfalls stepping on grass snapped him out of his thoughts, and saw that the screen had appeared. The footage so far was simple: the Ossoona walking.

Truth settled himself and watched as the Supreme Commander called him over, the gold armor gleaming in the artificial sunlight. Zek 'Erentaree was more sensible than his younger brother, finding none of her attributes charming.

His best guess is that the red Sangheili saw her as a playmate and exotic companion.

"Where is she?" the Zealot said, arms folded.

"She is behind that tree there."

"Probably collecting information for the humans. They send a child to spy on us, hoping that our hearts would betray our logic." he huffed. "And I can see you do not even have slight suspicion about a little girl on this holy Ring."

"Because there is nothing to be suspicious of. You've seen the Rose Signet on her finger, the drawings. Vardihi is much more than she seems."

The Supreme Commander startled as if he had been struck. "Do _not _say her name! It is blasphemy to have the esoteric teachings connected with that hideous being!"

"But that is her name! Is that not a sign?!"

The elder brother sighed . "I cannot deny that there is something compelling about the girl, and the fact that she knows _so much_! It is almost...as if He had sent her here himself."

Malkuth felt a chill run up and down his spine. He hated having his authority questioned, and the fact that these Sangheili alluded to her being sent from God himself...

"But they are our enemies, the Prophets have decreed it themselves. As the Third Children of Dios, they have a Heaven Manifest." Zek said suddenly, the zealous gleam in his eyes returned. "And the Humans, as the Fourth Children, have blocked access to sacred sites! Destroyed the Luminaries that they held! They have transgressed against God and their fellow Children."

Sala had nothing to say to that, but bowed at the head and walked to a large tree, where he saw movement by the girl. The Unggoy triplets were still napping, and the Huragok were not back yet. It was just the Sangheili and the human.

As the red armored alien turned the left corner to see the girl, both San'Shyuum and Sangheili breaths caught in their throats,

The girl was wearing nothing but thin, light green underpants.

"Oh! Hey, Sala." she smiled, and blushed. "You, kinda caught me at a bad time."

"Yes, I...I see that," he mumbled, embarrassed, but at the same time curious. He watched as the girl folded discarded clothes and put them in neat piles of eight each.

Truth gripped the armrest of his gravity throne, and he swallowed.

"Can I help you with anything?" the girl asked, playing with a lock of her odd hair

"Oh, um...no, nothing," the Ossoona murmured, but his eyes were trained curiously on her chest. Sangheili females did not have the curious fleshy orbs that this girl had, and he wondered about their purpose.

The girl arched a brow, wondering what the Sangheili could be staring at. Then, suddenly, she slapped a palm on her head, laughing. "Are you staring at my breasts?"

"You're...breasts?"

"Yes, these,"she held them to emphasize her point. "Are called breasts. All females of my species have them."

"What do they do?"

"Well, until we have a baby, they're mostly there for show. While pregnant these fill with milk, and then when the baby is born, they drink from them."

All she got was a blank stare, trying to comprehend all that. He nodded, and continued to stare in a sense of wonder and inquisitiveness. She smiled, almost knowingly.

"Wanna touch?"

"Excuse me?"

Truth gripped the armrests tighter. His breathing became shallow.

"Yeah, I mean, you learn better by touching it, more than looking," she grabbed his hand, and pulled it towards her chest, letting the palm rest on her right. Sala gulped, and soon relaxed as the warmth spread.

"It's...warm, and soft." he managed to say.

"That's what they're supposed to feel like. Warm and soft." she looked down and watched as he poked it curiously. The Sangheili knelt and inspected these odd things.

Truth's eyes twitched, and he could swear he felt the armrest crack under the pressure

"Is this their only size?"

"Nope. They get bigger as a girl gets older. Most girls are blessed with large breasts, but here I am, the B bordering on a C. Eh, I don't mind it."

"What is, 'bee' and 'see'?"

"Those are the size of breasts," she said. "They go from A, B, C, D, E, and I'm guessing F. But I could be wrong. The higher the letter, the larger the breast. Like, A's are small, D's and E's are pretty large. Get it?"

"I see,"

A strong silence hung over them, and she cleared her throat. She then put on a strange harness around her chest, effectively trapping the breasts.

"What...is that?"

"This is called a 'brassier'. They support the breasts so they don't sag, also it protect them. How, I have no idea." Vardihi gave a small laugh. "So...anything else you'd like–"

Truth quickly shut off the transmission, and collected himself, burying his face in his hands. That was...strangely stimulating. Oddly enough, it was an erotic situation, but the girl was shockingly calm.

Truth kept three concubines, but not of his own will. Many times they had soothed his anxiety and kept him sane during times of extraordinary crisis when he was Minister, and they had been most comfortable with him. While he cherished those moments, he always knew that soon, they would have to move on.

Had it been his decision, he would've dismissed them and never would've wanted to see them again. It was most definitely not because he did not like them, but merely because he would not want his reputation tarnished just for relieving sexual tension. A week after he became Hierarch, he told his concubines that they had three days to pack their things and leave. They had predicted this, and while they were angered at his decision, they attempted to understand his reasoning.

Leeloo had other ideas.

In a passionate and earnest speech, it managed to worm the thought of loneliness (and many other topics that all San'Shyuum found to be either thorny or touching) to the mated and single Prophets. By the end of the speech, the Miluna was grinning ear to ear, and told Malkuth that he could keep his concubines without fear of a scandal, whether true or false. As relieved as he was, a part of him was outraged that his companion had overridden a decision he had made. He knew that it wanted to keep the women mainly because that it enjoyed their company, enjoyed its talks with them, and thoroughly enjoyed their cooking.

Now he saw that he needed them, or at least, one of them, to soothe this ache he had. Well, good thing he kept them despite his ego screaming at him to override that impudent Miluna's decision.

* * *

His chambers were silent when he returned, thankfully. Leeloo was in its same position at the foot of the bed, ears down and breathing heavier. The gem at the center of its forehead gleamed dull, or brightly, it was hard to tell in the dark.

Malkuth breathed in, and breathed out, trying to calm himself down from the (_ahem_) sigh of the girl without proper clothing. She was very open and free spirited, he could gather that. The parents must have been too liberal for the child's own good, and thus turned her into a naive and pathetic little thing.

He breathed in and out slowly and quietly. As much as he wanted to deny it, he was aroused. It angered him that the girl put him in such a state, with his females asleep! Just great. Perfect, even.

Truth decided that the best to do now, was to simply sleep it off. By morning he would have forgotten the spectacle and proceeded with his normal routine. He nestled himself under the covers and counted the seconds until he finally fell asleep.

* * *

_She hovered over him like a wraith. Her magenta hair silently hovering around her like a halo. _

"_My sweet..." she murmured, caressing his face. "My love." _

_Malkuth woke without a start, merely turning over and facing the girl. Her arms were outstretched, her hands grasping him by the shoulders. _

"_I want you, I need you...my only." she hissed, and smiled wide. _

_He studied her carefully, almost in wonder. "This is a dream," he said. "This isn't real." _

"_Me darling? Not be real?" her teal eyes twinkled. "I'm very real. All too real."_

_As she touched one of his lobes, a horrendous thought came to his mind: his mistresses. May the heavens forbid something happen to them! _

"_Where...where are they? Where are my women?" he felt something warm and wet envelope his hands. _

"_Dead. You killed them." she smiled and pointed_ _at his hands, and saw that they were covered with blood. His throat tightened and went dry, looking at the girl with hated eyes. _

"_They don't matter now; I can give you something they never could," she said, gently wiping the sweat off his brow. "Enter me and let me bear you a–" _

_She leaned in, her breath touching his face as she whispered her last word. _

"–_child." _

* * *

His eyes snapped open, waking up to the dampness of a cold sweat. His heart was beating so hard he could swear it would burst.

"Malkuth?"

Truth turned to see his youngest, Binah Ashelt, looking worriedly at him. Leeloo jumped on the bed and cuddled close to its companion, then backed off when it felt the sweat. Binah sat close to him and wiped a sheen off of his brow.

"Are you alright? Leeloo said your sleep was troubled," Binah, always a sweet one, always making sure that everyone was alright. She smiled and ran her finger down the curve of his neck; that special way that made him shiver. Binah gingerly removed some straps that held down her clothing and exposed her shoulder.

"If you need anything, I am right here."

Malkuth wasn't daft, and he recognized the double-entendre easily. He gave a half smile, and gently pushed her away. "No thank you, Binah. I am fine; just a nightmare, is all."

She huffed, disappointed, and covered herself again. "Are you sure? You were sweating."

"Yes, Binah. I am not going to die anytime soon, I promise you that." he said.

Binah Ashelt stood and walked back into the shared room, closing the door behind her. Leeloo and Malkuth stared at one another for a time, before the Soel Miluna shook its head and waddled back to the foot of his bed, stilling itself and falling asleep again.

Malkuth lay for a time staring at the ceiling. Did he..._really_ have that dream? Not only _have _it, but also_ enjoy_ it! There must've been something wrong with him. Maybe he...yes, maybe he needed to order the Ossoona to temporarily stop recording the girl, until he can get his thoughts into – no. That's what the little whore wants. She _wants_ him to let his guard down and let the Covenant think she's harmless. Even now, as he drifts to slumber, she is laughing at his people's despair, at his desperation.

She's dangerous.

* * *

If some of this is a bit sloppy, it's because my beta has been MIA for a time.


	10. The Ring On My Finger

_I am always with you. I am always near you. I am always close to you._

* * *

**The Hanging Garden**

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii am back! But no one cares! Heh. I was playing Halo 2 (squeal!) since it came out. And I wrote the poem featured here. The title is _Garden of Eden_. By the way…there are a lot more verses than the one here.

* * *

**Chapter 10 :: The Ring On My Finger **

A week went by, and then another, and Utethy had adapted to the Covenant lifestyle. She cared for three Grunt infants named Ai, Yuu, and Kei. They looked to her as a mother, and she looked to them as her own children. As time past, Sala 'Otoree, her bodyguard became her best friend.

Zek 'Erenatree, her brutal and merciless husband, began to fall in love with her every second of the two weeks. He cared for her (while making small attempts to lure her into his bed), but treated her as property and hit her many a time.

Then came the day when she asked "the question," as Zek referred to it.

Utethy yawned loudly as she exited her tent, she'd just woken up from a long nap and her three "personal suck-ups" followed. She walked slowly so that Ai, Yuu, and Kei could keep up.

Utethy had something on her mind. Something she didn't dare ask the other soldiers. She had to ask Zek; the bastard he was, he had some white to that black soul of his.

"Where are we going, Lady Utethy?" Yuu asked curiously.

"To see if Zek can tell me…"

"To tell you what?" Ai questioned.

"You shall see." Utethy winked.

She walked into Zek's tent, the triplets sitting outside. He was lying on the floor, his eyes gazing at the tent's ceiling, unblinking. She rolled her eyes and smiled. _This guy is such a child. _She thought bemused.

Utethy kneeled to his side. "What are you doing?"

Zek's gaze never tore from the ceiling. "Pondering." He said simply

"Pondering _what_, dare I ask?"

He smiled. "Just…pondering."

"Weirdo."

"Care to join me? It's awfully lonely."

She shook her head. "No, not really. As soon as I lay down you'll probably seize the chance of screwing me to death."

He chuckled. "Damn you."

"Look, I need an answer from you, Zek." She said. "I really need to know this."

He rose into a sitting position and leaned on her elegant body. "Alright, my darling, what is your question?"

She breathed in a few puffs of air.

"Zek…are there…_others _like me?" she said cautiously.

He cocked an eyebrow. "What?"

"Are there, well, others who _look _like me?"

"I'm not sure…I'm not following you, Utethy."

"Are there other humans on Halo?" she said quickly. "Are there others here? Please tell me."

He swallowed heavily; he knew this day would come. He knew that she would question that she was the only human here. And it made him sick to think about it. To lose his precious bride, his lovely Utethy. If he told the truth that there were other humans on this holy place…she would run to them before he could kiss her.

But if he lied…

He breathed in a fake sigh of remorse. "I-I'm sorry, my dear. You're the only human here." he looked to the ground, trying his very best to look apologetic. "If there were I'd tell you, but unfortunately no; there are no humans on Halo. I'm very sorry."

The hopeful fires in her innocent eyes were extinguished by the comment. She looked so beautiful when all hope was lost. But nothing was ever lost in those eyes…just forgotten.

"Okay, Zek. I believe you…" without another word she walked out, shoulders slumped and eyes still directed at the ground.

Zek let out a silent yelp of victory as she left his quarters. He lay back down on the ground.

_You will never leave me, Utethy. You'll stay with me until the day you die. You are mine and mine alone. _

_My love Utethy. My love, my bride, my life. The only thing I have to live and fight for. _

* * *

Ai, Yuu and Kei followed Utethy to her personal garden. Something that she cherished and cared for in her spare time. To make her feel more at home, Zek had planted seven purple roses next to Utethy's tent. Soon more purple roses sprang up and looked more beautiful than Utethy herself.

Gently sprinkling water over the dry flowers, Utethy sighed and closed her eyes. Ai fell in front of the water and squealed as he became wet. Snapping open her eyes, Utethy helped the small Grunt dry off. A small 'thank you' and the three infants ran off, hoping to find someone to tease and not running into Aa or Un.

_They are so cute, _she thought. But her happiness stopped abruptly as she spotted a dying rose. It was covered in black dots from petal to stem. Utethy kneeled to inspect the damage. _Perhaps too much sun? _

As she gingerly touched the soil, she recoiled in disgust as gigantic blue beetles began to crawl out of their home and started to make their way up every rose, eating their fill.

"Ah. Perfect. Wonderful; so you're the dirty mongrels who did this, eh?" Utethy rolled her eyes. No response, but they _were _bugs, after all.

"Now, then, where is your home?" she dug around the dirt, not noticing a shadow that crouched next to her.

"What are you doing, Utethy?" Sala said.

"Trying to find their home." She didn't look up.

"Who's home?"

She pointed to the beetles that were currently eating away the beauty of the roses. Sala sighed. "Ah. Those beetles. They're everywhere, I guess. Even Halo."

"Help me find their home. I like the roses and I don't want them to die on me." She said.

She searched the ground a bit more before finding a large mound of dirt. "There we go." She raised her left hand to crush it.

"Utethy," Sala held her left hand in place. "Who gave you this ring?" he seemed in awe at it. Sala examined the white rose ring on her finger.

"Oh. That. Well…" she bit her lip. Should she tell him the truth? On the other hand, should she lie?

"This is…beautiful." He sniffed it. "It even smells like roses. Who gave this to you?"

_Oh, crap. Well, I can either lie or just tell him straight out about my prince. I can trust him. But I want to keep my prince a secret. _She thought.

"Sala, I wanted to ask you this…but I already got an answer from Zek." She said. "Are there humans on Halo? And answer truthfully."

Sala looked up and saw Zek, his eyes twitching and claws digging into his palms. This left him in a double bind; if he told the truth, Zek would rip him to shreds. And if he lied, he would be spared, but he'd lay awake knowing that the girl he was supposed to protect was living in a lie.

Protect. He was to protect her from harm and truth.

Sala swallowed and looked away from his brother. Utethy had already destroyed the beetles' home and several other were dead.

"No, Utethy. There are no humans here. Zek told you there weren't any, eh? He told the truth." He said.

"Great." She sighed. "Now I have to stay here. I mean, I like _you_, but Zek is a beating. All he wants is sex, sex and more sex. He'll fuck me into oblivion!"

"You see, Utethy, he grew up horny."

"I don't need to be told twice."

She stared at her martyred roses and sighed. She plucked off a few remaining insects and stood up. "I'm going to see where Ai, Yuu, and Kei went. God knows they're being pummeled again." With that, she walked off, head down.

Sala felt a pang of guilt in his heart, and dusted off a beetle corpse. He felt a shadow cascade over him and a hand on his left shoulder.

"Good work, Sala. You finally knew for once when to keep your mouth shut." Zek's voice purred.

"Get away from me, brother." Sala snarled. "I didn't do it to save my wretched hide; I did it because I didn't want to leave Utethy alone. I know that you thought I'd tell her the truth, and because of that, you knew that once I was dead, you'd seize the chance to tear her apart."

"Look, you know that the Covenant need more soldiers. If you'd like, once she's given birth to about…oh, I don't know, fifteen of my children, you can have some of your own with her." Zek's evil smirk returned

"I don't want to have children. Not yet."

"Oh, well. In that case, I'll go find her and we'll all be entertained with the sweet sonata of her screams. And, by the way, I'll say you'll be doing the sheets. They're going to be bloody."

"You wouldn't dare…" Sala seethed

Zek's gaze turned cold. "Of course. She's my bride, my property. I can rip her to the point of no return and she'll still bear my child-"

"DON'T YOU _DARE _TOUCH HER!"

Several Covenant warriors turned and stared at the brothers. Zek chuckled and pat Sala's head as if he were a dog. "Don't ruin this for me, little brother. You know how much I love your sister-in-law."

Zek walked back into his tent while humming. Sala leered at him and made an obscene gesture with his hand in the same fashion the humans did when they were angry at one another. He didn't know what it meant, but he presumed it was a silent curse the human god taught them eons ago.

_Bastard. How could you do this? How could you make an innocent girl your bride? As much as we are against the humans…I can't help but pity her. _Sala thought silently.

He heard the footsteps of Utethy and the infant Grunts. Once she was in front of him, she crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow, a mischievous smirk on her face. The triplets looked up and mimicked her awkwardly.

"So, I guess you know how to make the 'fuck you' sign."

"What do you mean?"

She laughed. "When you give someone the middle finger-" she made the crude gesture to show him. "-it means 'fuck you'. You know what that means, right?"

"Of course I do. I should do that behind Zek's back more often."

"More or less he deserves it." Utethy rolled her eyes

* * *

Utethy knelled to the ground, picking up dead beetle corpses and tending to her roses. She was humming a lullaby her real mother sung to her as a baby.

_This place is heaven to no one but me_

_I didn't say you weren't worth the fall_

_I craved it all_

_Lullaby angel song echoes in the night_

_I'll always have a cross to bear_

She stopped suddenly as she felt hands clasp over her eyes. Utethy sighed.

"Stop it, Zek."

He laughed and kissed her temple. "How'd you know it was me?"

"I know things."

He knelt beside her, watched her as she picked up and crumbled the insect bodies.

"You do love these roses." He said.

"Yes I do." She said quickly.

Zek smiled. It was wonderful in his eyes that she was his and his alone. No one would dare take her from him. Despite that she was property, she was defiant. No female should ever be defiant. His eyes traveled to her left hand and frowned.

"Utethy, what is that?" he gestured to her left ring finger.

"Oh, _this_?" she looked at it and smiled. "It's something a certain someone gave me." Utethy's eyes glazed over at the memory of her prince. "You mean you never noticed it before? A lot of the people here have."

He growled. "That's something _I _didn't give you. Sala gave it to you, didn't he? He shall be punished at once."

Utethy raised her eyebrows. "Sala didn't give this to me. My grandmother did. You see, she was dying of a rare disease, and she'd bought this for me a month before she died. She told me to always look at it when I was feeling overwhelmed or terrified. So that's what I do."

Zek snorted. "That's a load of bullshit, Utethy." He grabbed her left hand. "_This _proves that you aren't loyal to me, you are loyal to an illusion and a faded memory. _This _proves that you don't appreciate a damn thing I provide for you. _This _proves that you would rather live in a dream world than face reality."

"Who said all _that_?" Utethy smiled. "My grandmother was a kind and gentle person who thought of me before herself."

"I bet your father is just drowning in his own tears in shame for the daughter he had spawned forthwith from his loins." Zek said.

Utethy cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "Wha…?"

Zek shook his head. "Never mind. Just give me the damn ring."

"No." she said.

"Give me the ring, Utethy. _Now._" Zek was turning threatening

"The answer's still no."

He slapped her hard across the face and watched as she fell to the dirt. He then grabbed her left and again and tried to pull the ring off.

"You make me sick," he hissed. "Despite the fact that you're my bride and should be obedient and agreeable, you refuse to accept anything that I give to you, save a bed and a meal." He violently tugged on the ring. Utethy kept her fingers clenched. "You're my only bride, and I love you, but sometime sometimes you can just be a pain! Let go of the ring, Utethy! I am _commanding _you to _LET GO OF_ _THE FUCKING RING!!_"

"No! Do you _ever _listen?!" She held tight as he tried to do away with her precious item. With a kick to his head, he fell to the ground. She gasped and breathed for air. Zek looked at her and growled.

"Bitch. Have you no shame?" he spat out blood.

She laughed. "No. No in fact I don't. I could never feel shame. And you deserved that more than anything."

He said nothing. He smirked and grabbed her neck. Utethy gasped and squeezed her eyes shut, predicting the worse.

The next thing she knew, she felt something on her lips.

Opening her eyes, she saw that Zek- cold-hearted, brutal, and malicious- was kissing her forcefully, commandingly.

She felt his tongue gracelessly glide into her mouth and explored every region. Utethy, for the entire six minutes, never kissed back.

He finally released her and pushed her to the ground, patting her fevered head. Zek got up and left.

Utethy stared at the sky, blinking in confusion. Sala kneeled beside her and held up two fingers. "How many are there?" he said teasingly.

"Knock it off, smartass." She grumbled and sat up, dusting herself off.

"So…how'd you like it?"

She grimaced. "Like a squid latching onto your face and sucking your lips dry."

He rolled his eyes. "Your lips are bruised, by the way."

She touched her lips, not surprised that they were throbbing painfully. "Thanks for noticing." She then spat onto the ground. "I got his tongue on my lips, on my gums, on my teeth, on my tonsils, on the little thing that dangles in the back of your mouth. Even down my goddamn throat." Utethy moaned. "It's going to take forever to get the taste out of my mouth."

Sala wrapped an arm around her. "Everything will get better…I promise."

Utethy looked up. "Nothing is guaranteed. No promise can be kept."

* * *

Wonderful! The next chapter will have more of _Garden of Eden _poetry. I hope you're enjoying this so far. It'll get better…along with my writing style. 


	11. A Faint Ray of Hope

_"I wanted only to try to live in accordance with the promptings that came from my true self. Why was that so very difficult?" -- "Demian", Hermann Hesse_

* * *

**The Hanging Garden**

Here are more verses from my poem _Garden of Eden_, just as I've promised in the last chapter. I've been meaning to write this chapter for a while now…enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 11 :: A Faint Ray of Hope**

After their first kiss, Zek never let Utethy out of his sight, not even for a minute. He fondled her constantly and repeatedly kissed her numerous times

Utethy never found his enjoyable and always told him to stop, but he refused to listen to her pleas. Her diary grew thick with secrets and rumors, along with valuable memories and good times.

Not to mention Ai, Yuu and Kei keep calling me 'Lady Utethy'. I'll never admit it, but it's starting to get old, _really _old. So to keep my sanity, I asked the triplets just four days ago to, from that moment on, call me 'Mama'. It surprised the, really, but then again, they were cruelly stolen from their mother and their only purpose really is to "suck up" to me. 

Since then, we've been really close. Just yesterday, I was taking my usual nap, dreaming and wishing this was just a nightmare. When I woke up, I found that they curled up into little balls, snuggled up next to me. They were so cute and innocent it took me almost fifteen minutes to gather up the courage to wake them up. 

"Mama?" Ai's tiny voice made Utethy look up from her roses.

"Yes, baby?"

"I'm hungry." He said simply. "And I want a bloodfruit."

"What's the magic word, Ai?" she smiled.

"_Please _may I have a blood fruit?"

Utethy laughed. "Okay, Ai…you can have a bloodfruit."

She handed him the fruit and he began to shove it into his mouth. Bloodfruit was native to the Grunts' home planet, and it was the size of a tennis ball. Inside were tiny seeds that looked like blood stained glass shards. Bloodfruit was given to newborn Grunts to ensure a healthy long life. It was a rare thing for Grunts to see their native (and favorite) food nowadays, since the higher ups took the last of their supplies of it.

Ai gulped down the last piece of the fruit and licked his lips; they were covered in blood colored juice.

Utethy rolled her eyes and silently chuckled. _Everyone will think he killed someone if he walks around like this. _Using the back of her right hand, she wiped away most of the juice. However, not before Ai squealed and pushed her away.

He tripped over a small rock, landed on his back, and tried to get up, but his methane tank kept him from moving. Sighing, Utethy held the little Grunt in place and gave him a small kiss. Ai smiled and ran off, wanting to play with his brothers. Utethy watched him leave.

_Innocence. Such a beautiful and deadly thing. Am I still innocent? Or am I now jaded? _Utethy knelled to the ground and picked off a dead rose petal. _I guess I'm Innocently Jaded, or perhaps Jadedly Innocent. _

A sad smile formed on her lips as she looked at her locket again. The picture of her parents smiled back at her, love gleaming in their eyes. Her mother was sitting on a chair, while her father stood to her mother's right, holding her shoulder. Both of them were wearing fancy clothes only a person of great wealth could wear.

Shutting the locket, she placed a hand on her face, surprised by the feel of warm water pooling in her eyes, blurring her vision.

_No. Don't cry. Only babies cry. You're not a baby, you're a young woman, and it would be shameful to cry. You may have seen mom and dad cry…but you can't cry. You barely know the taste of tears. _She tried to pretend she was strong.

Utethy dusted herself off and walked toward her tent, taking out her diary and looking over what she wrote. It surprised her how much she'd written in the past weeks. She wasn't much of a writer, and when she did have time to write, it would be something dark and brooding.

But here were good things, positive things. It wasn't like her to look on the positive. Sighing, closing the book, she lay on the bed and looked up, her arms behind her head. Utethy's hair was still down (orders from Zek, or else she'd earn a beating), and it was beginning to annoy her.

"I can't let him control me!" Utethy pounded on her pillow. "I need to let him know that _I'm_ strong, _I'm _independent, and _I'm _not his little bitch!"

Gritting her teeth Utethy stomped off to Zek's tent, her eyes slits of candy teal. In the days she was in the camp, everyone began to adjust to her short fuse. They memorized all of her annoyances and pet peeves and tried their hardest not to push her buttons.

The Covenant soldiers quickly walked out of her way. To avoid her fury, to avoid her wrath. Sala, even, was frightened of her when angered. But Zek…he was frightened of nothing. Even if the Gods themselves were angry…

She ripped through Zek's tent and balled her hands into fists. Her husband stood before her, reading a map. His obsidian eyes barely glanced up before he smiled.

"Utethy, my love. How surprising." He turned the page of his book, not looking up. "What brings you here?"

"Just here to tell you I'm leaving," she seethed. "I'm leaving you forever. I'm not going to stay in this prison."

Zek still didn't look up. He chuckled a bit. "You're joking, aren't you?"

"No…no I'm not. I'm being quite serious."

Zek, now taking her seriously, stood up and walked over to his bride. "You know the penalty for a bride to disobey her spouse."

"Yes." She said. "Death. And being your bride is a fate worse then it."

Zek growled and backhanded her roughly across the face. She didn't even so much as fall to the ground.

"Arrogant bitch," he hissed. "I've spared you many a time of a ruthless beating."

"Hah! You wish." Utethy rubbed her now red cheek. "You never sexually violated me, but you sure as hell ripped my life apart by making me your bride. The only thing that keeps me here are my triplets and Sala."

"What about me? What about thanking me for saving you life?" he punched her in the stomach, causing her to fall to the ground. "If Yayoi had not screeched your presence, I would've never known that your filthy hide even step foot on this sacred-"

"S-sacred? This place is…is hell!" Utethy struggled to stand, but Zek kicked her again. "A p-place very fitting for a mo-monster like you…"

He growled and pinned her to the cold ground. "I've spared you a vicious rape many times…I think it's time you know how much power that I, a strong male, have above you."

She smirked. "Do your worst..."

"I shall."

Zek pushed her dress up and kissed her hard against her lips. Swearing mentally, Utethy prayed that her rape would be quick…but she knew Zek; he'd do it slow and brutal.

She felt his finger glide against her womanhood and she squeezed her eyes shut. Utethy heard Zek chuckle evilly and her heartbeat increased.

"Enjoy your last minutes of innocence, Utethy…" he mocked, thinking her to be weak.

"Bite me."

She felt teeth sink into her neck, feeling pain. Utethy felt her own blood drip from the wounds.

Zek slid a finger into her, loving the way she gasped. Reasonless cruelty glimmering in his eyes, he curled it and watched as she grit her teeth.

"Enjoying it? I hope so." He added another finger. _She's so tight. _

A normal girl of her age would have been crying at that point from the pain. But she wasn't normal. She could stand great amounts of pain, emotionally and physically.

Zek allowed some mercy and roughly ripped his fingers from her. Positioning himself above her, he could see the hidden fear in her eyes.

_The beautiful painting that is underneath a strong and thick coat of marble. That is my bride, my life, my love. My Utethy._

_I love you…I hate you…_

A screaming Yayoi, who rushed into the tent breathing heavily, interrupted the moment. Noticing the two, he cleared his throat and tried to be calm, but to no avail.

"S-sir!" he stammered. "They've, uh, come! They're here! In the encampment! Quick! They're here! Almost all of them!"

"Who's here?" Utethy asked curiously.

Zek swore and got up. "Assemble the troops. Make sure very last one of these bastards polluting this holy place is dead on the ground."

Yayoi saluted. "Yes!" and ran out.

Zek walked casually to his desk and pulled out a plasma rifle, checking to see if it was full. He nodded and turned to Utethy. "Stay here. Do not leave it."

"But I can fight!" she protested.

He slapped her again and grabbed her neck. "Stay in this tent." He hissed. "I will tell you how the battle went. I will fight for you, so you don't have to get your little hands dirty. And, by the way, _never _look outside. _Never _try and help a male when he's going to fight."

With that, he ran outside. Utethy stood up, brushed herself off, and sat on a chair. She sighed, hopping for a miracle. In a few minutes she heard the sound of plasma rifles and the screams of the Grunts, not to mention Zek roaring orders. Occasionally there was the sound of guns. Regular guns her stepfather kept in his draws, the drunken bastard.

Wait a minute. Regular guns? That meant that…

"Say hello to my little friend!" The sound of a man, the sound of his gun emptying, the sound of him reloading it. "I'm not done yet, bastards!"

Utethy gasped and stood. Could it really be?

Walking cautiously to the tent's opening, she gripped the flap.

_This is it, _she thought to herself. _If I open it, Zek might see me and go Josef Mengele on me. But fuck him. I need to know…I need to know. On the count of three, Utethy ol' girl. One…two…_

She heard more of the men screaming and Grunts yelping.

_Three!_

Utethy poked her head out slightly and opened her eyes. What she saw shocked her beyond belief. Humans. Living, breathing humans were in fighting the aliens she'd adjusted to living to. She saw Aa and Un, fighting with both their guns and their own physical strength. She saw Sala, firing carefully and dodging oncoming bullets. She saw Yayoi, screaming about being careful and "watch out!" now and then. She saw Ai, Yuu and Kei, innocent beings wielding guns and killing the humans.

The humans caught her attentions more.

They were dressed in the usual army garb, wielding the usual army weapons. Utethy always protested against war, and when a veteran would walk pass her, she'd feel a sense of both awe and disgust inside of her soul.

But this time…she actually wished harm on every Covenant soldier she saw and hopped they all dropped to the ground and breathe their last breath.

"Look out!" the men retreated as a plasma grenade detonated. "Lousy bastard can't hit for his life!" they opened fire again.

Utethy bounced on her tiptoes as the battle continued. Several humans were on the ground dead. It all seemed lost for them. Her heart sunk into the abyss, knowing that they may all be dead by the end.

_Please God…don't let them die on me…bring a miracle. Please…_

She heard the rolling of a plain grenade and the sound of it going off, taking a Jackal with it.

What happened next would forever leave her begging for more battles.

A man wearing green armor raced into the battle. Utethy's heart stopped, her eyes widened. The man (or a woman, perhaps. She didn't know; his helmet covered his face.) fired several rounds to the aliens, not stopping until they fell.

"Hey, Chief. Welcome to the party. Glad you could come." One of the men said.

"Chief?" Utethy whispered. "His name is 'chief'? What kind of name is _that_?"

But she didn't care. This man…he was strong, swift, skilled at his art. She cocked her head and watched as the man kill as many of the enemy as he could. Her heart suddenly started again…but this time is was beating fast, _very _fast. Too fast, actually. Her eyes stayed locked on the man in green armor until he left.

He turned and fired one last time, then slowly turned and ran. The men followed. Utethy slowly closed the tent and sat back down on the chair. She was crying.

_He lied! _Utethy thought _I should have known, though. But Sala lying just isn't like him. I wonder if-_

She saw Zek walk through the tent and pat her head. "I'm sorry you had to hear all that. Monsters, those bastards are." He noticed she was crying. "Dearest…what's the matter?"

She had to lie, for her own sake. "I-I was just worried," she said, the words biting her tongue. "I was worried that I would lose you. That I would lose everyone…" But in truth, she was just beside herself with happiness. She now knew there were humans on Halo.

"Oh…darling." He held her in his arms. "I'm sorry…so sorry." He kissed her. "But this had to pass. I hope those awful demons don't come back." He rocked her like a baby. "I love you."

"I-I know Zek…" she swallowed hard. "And I love you too."

"Do you?"

"Y-yes…yes I do."

He smiled evilly, menacingly. "You don't know how long I've wanted to here those three words from you. Say them again."

"I love you." Utethy's tears were dry

"One more time." He pressed himself against her.

"I love you?"

"I love you so much it hurts." He moaned into her ear, caressing her lips with his claws. "I can't tell you how much I want you…"

"Zek?"

"You're making me hard…"

She tried to back away. "Zek, please don't do this. I'm not, uh, ready."

He slapped her hard across the face. "You're ready to mate when I say you're ready." His features calmed. "Are you ready for me?" he purred.

"No."

"Lay down on my bed…"

She stayed in her chair, sitting like a porcelain doll. Smiling she folded her hands over her crotch. "You can't take me. I won't let you."

He smiled and threw her from the chair onto the bed, her androgynous features never once giving in to fear. Zek sat next to her body, stroking her face, reaching down to her thighs.

Utethy did the unthinkable; she crossed her legs and refused to open them. Sitting up from Zek's bed, she walked out of the tent and into her own, leaving the Elite on the brink of rage.

* * *

Utethy was in a grand mood. Just two days ago she finally found the first sights of humanity on Halo, and they kept coming back for more. The man in green armor never failed to kill more Covenant, and her eyes always locked on him. Her walk had a skip to it and she sang more. While puzzled, the Covenant soldiers actually liked Utethy not being a rapid beast ready to kill anyone who crosses her. Sala to immediate notice to this, and began to wonder.

Utethy kneeled before her rose bed and hummed while she trimmed the dead leaves off the green stems. The crimson clad Elite patted her shoulder and was surprised to see that her face didn't hide any melancholy or loneliness.

"Hello, Sala." She said happily.

"Um…hello, Utethy. How are you today?" he asked awkwardly. "I see you're happy."

"Oh, _very _happy." Utethy smiled. "Isn't it a lovely day?"

"I guess it is…"

"Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Utethy, it's just that…it's just that being happy and acting like you are now just-"

"Isn't like me?" she finished. "I know, I know. Listen, I've got to go; my babies are waiting for me."

She skipped off to her tent, happily smiling.

_I think she knows…_he thought grimly. _Yes, she knows…_

----

As promised, her triplets were laying on her bed, squealing happily as their mother walked into the tent. Utethy embraced them and they nestled deep into her arms. She pulled away and then sat on the bed. The infant Grunts sat closely to her, loving the warmth her body gave off. It was almost…inhuman.

"Mama, sing us a song." Yuu said. "We want a song."

"Alright, alright. Let's see…" she closed her eyes to think, and then they snapped open, remembering which one was the best.

"_This place is Heaven to no one but me_

_I didn't say you weren't worth the fall, _

_I craved it all. _

_Lullaby angel song echoes in the night_

_I'll always have a cross to bear_

"_Locked in the paradise known as Eden_

_There are sweets for the sweet ones_

_I'm touching the edge of Heaven_

_I'm pushing back intoxicating memories_

_A wayward Romeo stands outside the gate_

"_I'll try my best swan dive_

_I'll try not to eat the forbidden fruit_

_I'm lost without a single memory _

_There tears I cry, they flood the house_

"_I've sunk into a deep depression _

_As I realize that I'm far from God _

_This is where the world bleeds white_

_Where amazing grace is our creed _

_You fall on your knees _

_To hear the angel's chorus_

"_So I show you some more and I learn_

_Today's a nice day for a white wedding_

_Only angels have wings, the rest must wait to be saved_

_I'm drawn into the rhythm _

_As I beg Christ, 'give them shelter' _

"_You're here in my arms_

_Fading like a rose _

_But that's a reason to be beautiful_

_I've got apples, sweet and bright_

_As I fall back into the rhythm_

"_Death's the high cost of living_

_I beg you, 'don't let them get me!'_

_Why am I so easy to betray?_

_I met a dance club Romeo _

_Who likes bloody angels and sinful saints_

"_When the boys cry, return to God_

_We all have angels and demons inside_

_Prayer and books are cooling_

_I'm living in a Christmas without you_

_I'm going to sing myself a lullaby_

"_I would fly away, but these wings are broken_

_Every night I say a prayer_

_In hopes that there's a Heaven_

_I'm fading in the light of a ruby moon_

_Spring yields her blossoms, a spectrum of spring gold in the fields_

_There's beauty in the tragedy_

"_Your eyes on her they all stare down _

_I can look your God in the eyes and say_

'_You are only an illusion'_

_I never meant to hurt you_

_I realize I'm God's Decay_

_And I like it that way_

_I'm waiting for my Independence Day_

_To come and save me"._

She heard the telltale sound of high-pitched snoring, looked into her arms to see the triplets asleep and nestled snug in her arms. She kissed them on their heads and lay down, enjoying the moment.

Yayoi's shriek broke the silence and he ran screaming incomprehensive babble. The most she could make out was "They're coming! Run! RUN!" Racing to Zek's tent as fast as she could, Utethy saw her husband gearing up for the battle. He chose the usual weapons (Plasma Rifle, Plasma Grenades) but then Utethy saw that he grabbed a handle.

"What the hell are you going to do with _that_?" she pointed to the handle.

Zek smirked ("This" he said) and pressed a button, allowing the handle to eject blue-white plasma into a sword shaped figure. He walked over to his bride and kissed his wife.

"I'll be back."

Immediately he vanished from her sight, startling her. "What the-?! Where'd you go?!" she yelped, obviously surprised. She saw faint outlines of Zek's body, then calmed down.

"It's called Active Camouflage, my darling. It's highly effective." Zek said. "I promise I'll be back. And I don't need to remind you not to-"

Utethy rolled her eyes. "Don't look outside. Blah, blah, blah. Just go and do your thing, okay?"

He nodded, and then casually walked out of the tent. She sat on her usual tent, allowing herself to calm down until she heard the angelic sounds of gunfire and shouts of caution from both sides. Utethy then peeked outside, as she usually did, and her eyes caught sight of the green armored man. She sighed and watched the show happily.

Until she saw Zek's outline from the active camouflage and his plasma sword, heading straight to the green armored man. And he was too busy to notice her brutal husband behind him.

Fearing the man might die (and he would have if not for her), she shouted, "Look out! He's right behind you!" The green armored man turned around and dodged the plasma sword. The man shot Zek in the chest multiple times before the Elite fell, injured, but not dead. The man looked around and saw no one.

"Hey! Whoever said that, thanks! And I owe ya one!"

She saw a young soldier chuckled and say, "Hey, it looks like the Good Lord sent an angel for ya."

"Don't be ridiculous, Private. There are no such things as angels." The green armored man said.

And the men left without another word.

Utethy watched them go, blinking rapidly. Her heart fluttered, but then sank as she saw Zek. Purple-blue blood stained his golden armor and his hands. There was murder in his eyes.

* * *

Utethy fell to the cold ground, blood oozing from her nose. Zek was on a homicidal rampage, and when that happened, there was no stopping him. He yanked the girl by her hair, forcing her to stand. Zek punched her again.

"Bitch," he hissed. "How dare you…how _dare_ you?!"

"How dare I _what_?" She said bravely.

"How dare you ruin my chances of destroying that human! Do you know how many of my kind he brutally slaughtered?!" the Elite shouted. "So now you know that there are humans defiling this sacred ring…"

"Zek, I bet you killed many more humans that that man ever killed Elites. And I knew there were humans on Halo days ago. I had the sinister feeling you lied to me."

"And for good reason!" he spat. "You would've flocked to them faster than I could blink! I love you and-"

"Loved you? _Loved you_? Where the hell did you get that bullshit?" she said, narrowing her eyes.

He growled menacingly and kicked her stomach. She cried out but did nothing else. Not satisfied he began to pound her small body. Utethy tried to curl into a ball, but Zek prevented that from ever happening by brutalizing her legs and arms.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to place her somewhere else but this hell. Sala, who rushed in and held back his brother, finally answered her prayers.

"Stop! Brother please, she hurt already!" he pleaded, "Utethy is just a girl, she'll get killed if you continue-"

"Then let her!" Zek hissed.

"But she's your _bride_! What husband kills their own bride? You love her, don't you?" Sala tried to negotiate, but Zek had a heart of stone. The older Elite relaxed in his brother's arms. Zek sighed, then stood up.

"Yes. Yes, I do love her." He said, picking up a plasma sword.

"Brother…brother what are you doing?!" Sala shouted.

"But sometimes females can become defiant and independent, two things I hate about my bride."

"Brother, please, let her live!"

Utethy stood up groaning, wiping blood from her mouth. She only noticed too late the white-hot pain of the plasma sword on her body…

* * *

Utethy woke up painfully on her bed, blood staining her school uniform. She noticed it was night, something that happened rarely.

She sat up, gritting her teeth against the pain. Utethy ran her fingers against the sources of pain, her lower back and chest. She sighed and lowered her head. The girl then noticed her ring was missing.

Her beautiful ring was missing from her hand.

Utethy gasped and threw herself off the bed, ignoring the pain as she looked through every possible place it might be.

It was gone. It was lost.

She felt something drain out of her as she lay defeated on the bed. It was her sense of self. Her sense of hope.

She covered her face with her hands and cried.

"I don't care…about anything else anymore"

* * *

I finally finished Chapter 11! Woohoo! Okay, so I put every single verse of _Garden of Eden _on this chapter, but why not? Next chapter will have a song in it. And no one will see what's coming ...

Until next time!


	12. I Use To Be A Superhero

_There are no miracles. There are no angels. The only thing that is true is fate. Nothing else and nothing more._

* * *

**The Hanging Garden **

Ahh…a nice, semi-sad chapter for you all! Isn't this nice? Well, I've bad news. No, I'm not stopping THG, nor is my fascination for Halo ending, but my (FUCKINGMOTHEROFCHRISTSTUPID) computer crashed, taking with it all of my notes for "The Hanging Garden". Now I have to write all the pages again…AAAHHH! I forgot to put this in for the last chapter, but Zek also took Utethy's locket. And the song used here is "Superhero", by Ani Difranco. Lyrics in italics.

Oh, and by the way. This chapter has some stuff in it that is inappropriate for people who can't stand the thought of sex, which will be described later on in the chapter. This is a looong one.

* * *

**Chapter 12 :: I Used To Be A Superhero **

_Sleepwalking though the All-Night drug store_

_Baptized in fluorescent light _

_I found religion in the greeting card aisle_

_Now I know Hallmark was right _

She walked with her head drooped, her face unreadable. Utethy's posture wasn't confident or even a bit smug. She was… weak.

She passed Aa and Un, Jackal twins who took her on just days before. They were eating their native food, Kin'li; thin blood red intestines from small rodents on their planet. They watched her walk and continued eating, only to spit out the food and gawk at the girl.

Several soldiers watched and had almost the same shocked reaction as Aa and Un. Some were finally pleased that Utethy had finally accepted her place in life; others were wondering what Zek had to do in all this.

She passed Sala and looked at him as if she just met him. Utethy stopped and raised her eyebrows at him, then shook her head and continued to walk. The Elite was appalled and followed her.

"Utethy? What are you wearing?" he asked

"My normal attire," she said coolly. "Well, my _new _normal attire."

Sala's jaw dropped; it had to be what had happened the night before. She was strong yesterday…but today she was barely recognizable as the headstrong Balamiya Utethy. She turned and smiled.

"Is Zek still asleep?"

"Yes…yes he is." was the Elite's response. "Are you going to kill him in his sleep?"

Utethy laughed softly. "No…" and continued to walk.

Sala hoped that this wouldn't last.

* * *

_And every pop song on the radio_

_Is suddenly speaking to me_

_Yeah, art may imitate life_

_But life imitates T.V._

Zek slept comfortably underneath several layers of blankets. His dreams always consisted of his Utethy, of power over his planet, of the death of everything that stood in his way. His happiness was all that mattered; Utethy's happiness came at a very close second.

It didn't matter to him that his beloved princess was much younger than him; several Elite males were very old, but their brides were youthful virgins, unlike themselves. Tyae, the Elite leader on his planet, had more than sixteen brides, and each one's fate was to breed until they died of it.

The Prophets and Elites raged wars against each other for ages, until the Prophets decided to make a peace treaty with the Elites just decades earlier. The reason why was that the Prophets had to "settle an argument", with an unknown being. When they spoke of the unknown being, they were spitting out the words and rage filled their voices.

Zek felt warm lips on his forehead and he snapped his eyes open. Utethy knelled next to him in a beautiful dress.

"Good morning, Zek." She whispered.

His eye widened; normally she'd spit on the ground he walked on; this other girl smiled kindly at him, love in her eyes. Zek cupped her face in his hands. Utethy giggled.

"Utethy?..."

"Yes, Zek?"

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes I am. Why do you ask?"

He stayed silent. He best take full advantage of her submission into the female role. Zek kissed her softly, sliding his tongue into her mouth. Utethy didn't shy away, but only kissed back. Zek didn't care what he did to her fragile mind the night before; all he knew was that she was his now.

They broke from their kiss, and Utethy laid a hand upon his face. "Do what you find suiting with me. I am yours."

He wrapped his arms around her and held her close to his chest. "I love you…"

'_Cause you've been gone exactly two weeks_

_Two weeks and three days_

_And let's just say that things look different now_

_Different in so many ways_

* * *

Ai, Yuu and Kei sat on Utethy's bed, patiently waiting for their mother to shower them with love and devotion. Ai was curled up in a ball, trying to push back sleep, while his older brothers rocked back and forth patiently.

Kei yawned and rubbed his eyes, laid himself on her pillow and took a quick nap. The triplets were startled by the new figure that came into Utethy's tent. It was Utethy, but she was wearing a dress; something she appalled. Nevertheless, the three Grunt infants were thrilled to see her and began to jump up and down. Utethy rolled her eyes as if this was a boring chore.

"Mama!"

She smiled "Hello, there."

Ai stretched out his arms. "Hug me!"

"No, hug _me_ first!" Yuu pushed him out of the way.

Utethy sighed and sat on the bed. The triplets immediately hounded her and squeezed her tightly. The adolescent girl grumbled a curse; Zek was waiting for her and here she was babying useless Grunt infants!

After a moment she stood up and quickly walked out of the tent, the infants on her tail. She wanted to get away from them, but they wouldn't leave her alone.

Utethy bumped into something and looked up; Sala stood in front of her, looking disappointed. The Grunts caught up and whimpered helplessly.

"Why aren't you helping them, Utethy?" he asked. "Why are you running away from them? I thought you loved them."

"I do!" she said

"Then why are you running away from them? Utethy, are you okay? You're not yourself" she covered her ears and hummed a tune. Sala continued. "…don't tell me you're-"

"Don't tell you _what_?" a sinister voice behind Sala sneered behind him.Zek punched his brother behind the head, earning a groan from the younger Elite. Sala narrowed his eyes at him, but kept silent.

"Utethy," Zek began, "you love me, don't you?"

"I…yes." She mumbled

"What was that?"

"Yes, Zek! Yes!" Utethy ran into Zek's arms, crying. "I-I do!"

Zek stroked her hair, wiping away the tears. "Shh…good girl, good girl…"

Utethy sniffled and said, "Please…take me away from here…."

"Will do, my sweet." He tugged on her sleeve and led her to his tent. The Grunt triplets lay on the grass and cried. Sala folded his arms and sighed.

_I used to be a superhero_

_No one could touch me_

_Not even myself_

_You are like a phone booth_

_I somehow stumbled into_

_And now look at me_

_I am just like everybody else_

* * *

Utethy curled into a ball and began to cry harder. Zek wrapped his arms around her and kissed the girl on the lips. She accepted the kiss; she had nothing else to fight for. Her locket that was once around her neck was in his possession, along with her precious ring.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, raking his fingers through her hair. "You seem upset…"

"…I don't know, Zek." she said.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her scalp. A light flickered in his eyes and he smiled. "Why don't you come to my tent at dusk? I have a surprise for you…you'll love it."

She looked up, eyes beginning to dry. "O-okay…my love."

Utethy snuggled closer to Zek, hearing his heartbeat. It was hard and firm, strict and masculine. It almost made her wish she could-

"Ahhh!! They're here! THEY'RE HERE!"

Zek unwrapped his arms and kissed Utethy. "I promise I'll be back."

"I'll be waiting."

As Utethy sat on the cold ground, she heard the faint battle sounds. But she didn't care. Zek was her only concern. If he died, so would she. She fingered the empty space on her left ring finger. So unfamiliar to her…

Utethy remembered the man in the green armor. The way he moved, the way he perfected his art of killing each time she replayed the moment she saw him. It was almost enigmatic.

Boredom took her over and she walked towards Zek's personal library, taking the lavender book out and flipping through the pages. She stopped and admired a picture of an upside-down castle.

_Why isn't it right side up? _She thought. _Isn't it logical to have it right side up? _

Shaking it off, she turned several more pages. Again, she was mesmerized by another picture, only it was that of a red rose, its stem filled with thorns, covered in honey. Underneath the picture read: _Leaders sometimes hide their true intentions with good deeds. Or what seems to be good._

_How weird. But it's true. _

"Utethy? What are you doing?"

She turned to see her lover, bathed in sweat with a smile on his face. "Are you reading that book about our Lord?"

"Yes, my love."

"I'm happy you thirst for knowledge about him, but you should be paying more attention to things that suit the female gender." He placed the book back in its place. "Like, for example, bearing my children."

"Are we ever going to get that far?" she asked.

"Yes," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her. "We will."

And they kissed. His hands roamed to her breasts, and she took the loving touch. Utethy, feeling playful herself, touched his chest, which sent Zek into a painful spasm. Fear alighted Utethy's eyes

"A-are you okay?"

"Yes…" he said wearily. "…I just…need to rest."

"I'll leave."

"That might be best."

* * *

_If I was dressed in my best defenses_

_Would you agree to meet me for coffee?_

_If I did my tricks with smoke and mirrors_

_Would you still know which one was me?_

A slap echoed throughout the Covenant encampment

Utethy, cowering against her purple roses, cupped her cheek, which was already turning red.

"It's your fault that Zek was wounded!" Un's voice was sharp and fearful.

"My Zek? He was wounded?" she blinked. "I-I didn't know that-"

"Shut up!" Aa slapped her again. This time sending her to the harsh ground. "You knew _exactly _that he was wounded. And it's _your fault_!!

"How is it my fault?"

Un's eyes were shining with raging fire from within. "Because he was thinking all about _you _the whole damn time we were fighting!" her hand struck Utethy for a third time. "Then that fucking human with the green armor came out of nowhere and shot Zek with his useless human weaponry!"

"An-and how is this my fault?"

"Because when he fell, Zek was whispering your name over and over again!" Aa whipped out his plasma pistol and pointed it to her head. "We almost lost our leader because of you!" He spat in the human girl's face, but she didn't flinch

"Aren't you going to fight back, you little bitch?!" the male Jackal screamed.

"…No." she said. "Because I have…nothing to fight for."

The Jackal twins stared at one another for a long time. Normally, she'd take this time to beat the living shit out of them. It seemed she really did have nothing to fight for.

Perfect.

Aa punched the girl and kicked the legs out from under her. She groaned but took the beating, tears never threatening to spill from her eyes. Un, with all her cruelty, yanked her up by her hair, roughly cupping her face.

"Well, well, now. Looks like our little prince isn't so strong after all." She mocked. "I guess all princes have to stop being noble."

Utethy closed her eyes, not daring to meet their eyes. They were right; she wasn't noble…she was weak. She heard Aa cackle evilly, charging up his pistol, and preparing to fire it. She had noting to fight for and they were taking full advantage of it.

Utethy heard a scream and someone rushing over. But she didn't care.

**"**_**What are you doing?!"** _

Her savior. It was Sala.

The Jackals were now on the ground, while Sala was roaring threats at them. He took a breath and walked over to her. "Are you alright?"

"You shouldn't have done that" she murmured.

"But you would've been killed!"

"I…don't care." She stood and walked into her tent. She was tired, she was weary, but most of all, she was ready to lose her mind.

* * *

Utethy sat on Zek's bed. Her heart was rampant with excitement. Zek had kept his promise, which was a surprise to her. She closed her eyes and wondered what her surprise would be.

She felt strong arms wrap around her body, and the sound of a heartbeat. She smiled and looked up. Her lover was sitting next to her.

"Tonight's the night, my beauty." She kissed her. "Tonight's our night."

_So…tonight's the night I lose my virginity. I'm okay with that. There's nothing in the cosmos that can give me back my pride. Zek…dear God, please be gentle_

He unwrapped her arms form his body. "So…should we get started?"

She nodded. "I'll take my clothes off…even though I'm a little shy."

"Shy about what?"

She blushed and felt her heart race. "Shy about being naked."

"Okay. I'll close my eyes and turn around, then I'll undress myself. You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all."

She undressed quickly. Then crawled under the covers of Zek's bed, blushing insanely. Darkness fully took the entire sky. She heard the clanking of metal and the. A second later, she felt breathing on her neck. Utethy turned and gasped. Despite the darkness, she could make out Zek's toned form perfectly.

He was muscular and (Utethy noticed) his skin was scaly. Zek had a special scent to him; it was like leather mixed with sweet smelling blood. It seemed impossible for blood to ever smell delicious, since it always had both a metallic taste and smell. But to the pink and purple haired girl, it was irresistible.

_She's so magnificent. _Zek thought. _She's so delicate, so child-like. So helpless. _

"Are you ready?"

"Yes…"

Utethy lay on her back upon the silk sheets, ready to give herself to him. She felt his warm breath on her face, his strong hands opening her legs carefully.

"Now…relax. This will hurt more if you tense up."

She obeyed him, feeling encouraged. Utethy gasped at the feeling of her innocence she was losing. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she moaned. Before their bodies were connected as one, she screamed.

"No! Zek, please stop! This hurts too much! Please, I'm not ready!"

Sighing he gently slid himself out of her. "Oh well, maybe next time."

He cuddled up next to her, enjoying the heart she was giving off. In return, she buried her face in his chest, loving his heartbeat.

"Is there something else we can do? I'm sorry that I disappointed you, Zek." She sighed. "Anything that all?"

The Elite blinked a few times, then shook his head. Suddenly, his eyes the glowed eerily with a smile on his face.

"Maybe there's _one _thing you can do…

_If I was naked and screaming_

_On your front lawn_

_Would you turn on the light and come down_

_Screaming, "There's the asshole_

_Who did this to me!"_

_Stripped me of my power_

_Stripped me down_

"Yes…yes…yes. Keep going. Oh, yes that feels good." Zek moaned out. His claws knitting themselves into her long hair. He was already bathed in a film of sweat from the lovely ecstasy Utethy was giving him.

Utethy, on the other hand, wasn't enjoying it at all.

After they had failed to make love, Zek had placed her delicate hand on his crotch. After a small argument, she agreed to his deal:

Go down on him, and she would be allowed to do nothing else for the rest of the night.

Needless to say, she was disgusted. But since this was her only chance to allow Zek to leave her alone, she did it.

"Yes…yes…" he closed his eyes and sighed with passion. "K-keep…going. Don't stop."

_Just pretend he's not talking. He's making this worse. Well, anything for my Zek. _

She closed her eyes and hummed a tune to keep her occupied while she was sucking-

"YES! YES! DO THAT!" Zek suddenly cried.

She looked up and him, sweat pouring down his body, eyes glossy from the pleasure. "D-do what you just did. Continue…to hum. Or…whatever you just did." His voice was slurring and his words were making little to no sense. "You have…such a lovely mouth, dear Gods."

_Weirdo. But he's so cute. I could stab him in the back and he'll still beg me to suck on him._

"Ohhhh…yes, yes, yes."

She tasted something on her tongue; sweet and salty at the same time. She mentally gasped, but did nothing.

_I used to be a superhero_

_No one could touch me_

_Not even myself_

_You are like a phone booth_

_I somehow stumbled into_

_And now look at me_

_I am just like everybody else_

Zek tightened his grip on her hair and forced himself not to scream as he climaxed into her mouth. Her body stiffened and she felt like someone had poured a teaspoon on her own vomit down her throat. Utethy tried to spit out his seed, but Zek beat her to it.

He covered her mouth with his strong claws and looked deeply into her panicked eyes.

"Swallow it."

She shook her head.

"Just do it! Your beloved protector used to when _I _told him to."

_WHAT?!  
_

"From the look on your face you seem surprised. Yes, I made my own brother suck me, and it did feel just a bit good. _He _swallowed when I asked him to."

Sighing, she gathered up all of the saliva she could and swallowed the white stickiness. Disgust rattled her very being as she gagged and spit out some bile. Zek chuckled.

* * *

Utethy slept in the next day with Zek by her side. Zek was very gentle with the girl when they were cuddling. Utethy groaned and she awakened from her slumber. Her mouth coiled at the aftertaste of her lover's seed.

The two were still naked, and Utethy's virginity was (somewhat) intact. Zek was still sleeping and she wrapped her arms around him. His skin was so soft and his body was curvy and perfect.

It almost made her fall in love with him.

Utethy heard a groan as Zek awoke. She watched as his cat-slit eyes open and his hands gently rub her back. He kissed her cheek softly.

"Good morning, my beauty."

"Good morning, my handsome."

_Yeah you've been gone exactly two weeks_

_Two weeks and three days_

_And now I'm a different person_

_Different in so many ways _

He nuzzled her softly, earning a giggle from the girl. She kissed him softly on his neck, forgetting the awful taste in her mouth.

Then she remembered her prince. The one who made her believe in the power of miracles. Her ring that he gave her…she still smelled the white rose scent it gave off. His hair, a lovely lavender shade that donned his head. His eyes, a baby blue that shone with love and knowledge in the cosmos. But who was he?

"Utethy?"

Zek cupped her face and brought her close to his. "Is something wrong?"

"No…" she said, dazed. "I'm fine." A question came upon her mind

"Zek, what attracted you to me?"

_Tell me what did you like about me_

_Don't say my strength and daring_

_'Cause now I think I'm at your mercy_

_And it's my first time for this kind of thing_

He chuckled and kissed her softly on the lips. "The reason is simple; because you were so…so…" he paused to think of why exactly he loved this female. He shook his head and rose from the bed. "I don't really know why, my dear." He donned the golden armor and rubbed her cheek, admiring her eyes. "I must get going, though. Goodbye." And he left her, naked, on his bed, at his mercy.

_Why am I so easy? Why am I just so easy to break? Is it because I rely on my prince too much? Or is it because I'm just a weak minded bitch? _

"Is there something you wanted to tell me, God?" she whispered to the heavens. "Are you trying to tell me something?"

No answer.

A few moments of silence.

"I hate myself…"

_I used to be a superhero_

_I would swoop down and save me_

_From myself_

_You are like a phone booth_

_That I somehow stumbled into_

_And now look at me_

I am just like everybody else

_I am worse than everybody else_

* * *

Ack! I'm sooo sorry that I didn't update "The Hanging Garden" earlier. I just took a hiatus. And for Madame Belldandy; I didn't really think that anyone would notice that I used Sesshomaru's two-headed dragon's name. Great eyes!

Stay tuned for the next addition to "The Hanging Garden"


	13. For The Sake Of Her Prince

_Open your eyes; great things head your way _

* * *

**The Hanging Garden**

Guess who? Glad people are reviewing THG, it's not that popular, but it's getting there. You know, I can't stop listening to a song by the Afghan Whigs. It's called "Gentlemen", and it reminds me of the Prophets. Jeez…what's wrong with me? And to answer Cobra-100's question about Utethy being Dios's host. Well, the answer to the question will come soon enough.

Not to mention, we'll find a secret about out pink and purple haired heroine that will shock you.

**Chapter 13 : For The Sake Of Her Prince **

* * *

Utethy brushed a stray hair from her face as she smoothed out her dress. Zek had finally broken her a day ago, and she surrendered to his every touch.

A few alien soldiers were very confused by Utethy's new personality and dress, but she was finally not attacking anyone, and gave up instead of fighting back. It was a change that literally happened, and was accepted, overnight.

She walked out of Zek's tent and was greeted by the tiny barks of attention by her triplet Grunts. The bounced up and down, stretching out their short arms and crying out "mama!"

Utethy sighed and walked by them, they followed. Finally she spun around and screamed threats and profanities at the youths. She stormed to her tent and flopped onto her bed, ignoring the sound of Ai, Yuu and Kei crying and whining. She groaned and squeezed her eyes shut.

_Goddamnit! Can't a person get some peace around here? _She thought. _I just want to go away. I want to be alone. _

She heard Sala's voice soothing the triplets outside the tent, but refused to allow herself any regret for what she'd just done. She just closed her candy-teal eyes, and tried not to fall asleep.

"Utethy? Are you in here?" Sala walked into the tent and sat on the bed, looking at the form next to him. "I think this is a yes."

"Get away from me."

"Not until you tell me why you shouted at Ai, Yuu and Kei."

"I was in a mad mood." She said.

"That's not a good answer, Utethy. Give me a good answer."

"Shut up!" she shouted menacingly. "I don't want to explain why I did _anything_! Just-just…get away from me!"

"You're acting just like Zek." Sala said. "You act like a feminine bride for a single day and now you're in the same state as Zek; cruel, unforgiving, ruthless even."

There was a long pause in the tent. It seemed that Sala had proven a point; Utethy _was _turning not only into Zek's bride, but into the monster himself. Utethy said and did nothing but bury her face in the pillow of her bed. "I hate myself," she said.

"Why?"

"I hate myself because…because look at me now!" she stood up and gestured to herself. "Do I look like the same Utethy that walked into this camp just weeks before? _No!_ I'm a different person. Hell! I don't even recognize _myself_!"

She flopped onto the bed and gently banged her head with a fist. "Jesus Christ, this is too much."

Sala bowed his head and his eyes turned downcast. He lay down next to her, and she didn't flinch or back away when he rubbed her cheek gently. Sala breathed softly on her neck before moving in, his mandibles brushing Utethy's lips. To his surprise, she didn't back away, maybe she was really broken.

He closed his eyes as he kissed her fully, his tongue slipping in accidentally. As much as she didn't want to, she kissed back; mainly out of the fact that Sala kissed _much _better then Zek. Sala felt something heat up in his chest, it was an alien feeling he never felt before in his life. Was it love or lust?

His hand gently traced a path between her legs, feeling himself become hard at the thought of freeing her from Zek's lustful grasp. She'd be gasping his name over and over again. He'd be gentle of course, but he would allow his body's desire to take control over his mind. And what about the children she'd bear? What would _they _look like?

"Sala, stop, that hurts…get your fingers out of me." Utethy's voice snapped him out of all lustful thoughts. He removed his fingers and patted her hair.

"Sorry, my darling" he said. "I just don't want my bother to destroy something as beautiful as you."

Utethy smiled weakly. "I'm not beautiful…dead roses the color of dried blood are more beautiful than me."

"That's not true…"

"It is, Sala. And don't play dumb."

His eyes looked at her beautiful features and realized what Zek had done to this rebellious soul.

"Did you two-"

"Make love?" she finished. "No…but we tried. Zek's too big for my canal."

Sala bowed his head. "At least you didn't go through with it. Many females have been subjected to Zek."

"I heard that…that Zek used to, well, make you swallow his seed as well." She asked. "He tastes nasty."

A chill ran up Sala's spine. Just the thought of swallowing his brother's vile seed again made him sick. He remembered the taste of his member in his mouth, when Zek couldn't find a female to do it. He remembered the moans and the feel of gagging. He remembered the sick pleasure Zek got from all of this.

_Suck. It. Bite and I'll make you beg for death. _

The threats….

_Yeeeeeeeeessssssss……yesss…oh…YESS!_

The disturbing moans…

_I want a favor from you, younger brother. I want you to get on your knees… _

The proposition…

"U…tethy…" Sala's eyes were glazed over from the horrid remembrance. He had to push this back! He had to make this go away!

"Sala? A-are you okay?" she said nervously. "He…he made me suck it, too. I didn't want to do it."

"Did he point a gun at your head?" he hissed bitterly. "Did he force you to surrender your innocence to him? I was raped by him, Utethy, did you know that? _Raped_! Fucking _raped_ by my own brother. Do you know how sick that is? To have non-consensual incestuous relations with your own _brother_? No… you're an only child…aren't you?"

She nodded slowly, rubbing his face tenderly as tears began to form.

"He made me want to _die_! He pinned me to the fucking bed and stole my innocence from me!" His voice was filled with rage and bitterness. "Every fucking day I had to feel him take my sanity, my dignity, then suck him for sexual pleasure that only _he _got! Did _I _try and stop him? _YES!_ Every time he tried to rape me again!"

Utethy felt tears burn her eyes and fall down her face.

"But I love him, my older brother. He's a monster and a cold, calculating bastard, but I love him. Dios knows why, but for some reason, I know that hate will only make my situation worse." He said, voice cracking.

"It's good that you don't hate him. If he did that to me I'd kill him in his sleep. You know…there's a person on Earth who reminds me of you. His name is David Pelzer, and when he was a little boy his mother abused him severely. He's fully grown now, and his mother is dead, but he doesn't hate her." Her voice was soft and calm as she spoke to him. "I think that's very, very brave."

He shrugged. "To humans, maybe." He looked her in the eye and laid his head onto her shoulder.

"You are never alone, Sala. People have been sexually abused just like you." She said. "You are one of many."

"A_hem_"

They turned and looked to see Zek standing menacingly over them. "What are you doing to my bride, dear brother of mine?"

"Nothing, brother. I was just talking to her."

"Really?" he growled. "Then why did you do _this_?" The older Elite pushed Sala off the bed and thrust his fingers brutally into Utethy. She grimaced in pain but said nothing. He curled his sharp claws and her legs twitched.

"Brother! St-stop! You're hurting her!"

"Good! She'll know that _I _lord over her in every damn way!" Zek smiled and kissed her tenderly. "I love you, this is why I'm hurting you."

"Get off of her! She's bleeding!" Sala's voice was pleading. He needed to help her. So he did the unthinkable; he pulled Zek's bloody finger's out if her himself. Sala didn't care about the consequences this time. Zek looked at him with hatred in his cat-silted eyes and punched him across the face.

"Leave me alone with my bride." He demanded in a dark voice.

"No…Zek. She's not your bride. She's a human. And didn't the Great Ones say that all humans are evil and that Dios despises them? Why did you fall in love with her, brother?" Sala said. "We are against them."

"Well, well, well…it looks like after all those sweet conversations you decide that you _hate _your sister-in-law." Zek sneered. "And here I thought you liked her."

"I _do_."

"Then why-"

"_BECAUSE I CAN'T STAND TO SEE HER SUFFER ANYMORE!" _

Both Utethy and Zek were silent as Sala breathed heavily. "You have ruined someone's life for the _last fucking time_. It's time that we let her go. She's not ours. The Grunt infants must find someone else to baby them. She has a life."

Zek widened his eyes in surprise. "But she's mine; I can't let her go."

"She's. Not. Yours." Sala hissed.

"Yes. She. _Is._" Zek said in a mocking tone. A brief silence, and then Zek punched him in the stomach, sending Sala to his knees. Zek took the opportunity to crush his skull with the butt of his plasma rifle. Sala was out cold. "She is mine, Sala. Get it through your head. She belongs to be Utethy is mine."

"Zek…" Utethy whispered.

He said nothing as he carried his beloved princess out of the tent and into his own. She whimpered into his shoulder and fell asleep onto his bed. Night fell, and all was silent.

* * *

_Wake up…_

_Wake up…_

"What?"

Utethy sat up in Zek's bed, immediately noticing that her husband was fast asleep next to her. With a gasp she suddenly remembered what happened the day before. It was still dark and everyone was asleep. Shrugging, she lay down again and pretended to go to sleep.

That was until she noticed the figure above her.

Utethy gasped, but was soothed by the calmness in the figure's eyes. The figure was obviously a woman, naked and beautiful. Her hair was wavy and went past her waist, her breasts were full and round, her legs and arms her long and elegant, her skin was a healthy tan.

But what was so eerie about her was that she was an older version of Utethy herself. The only differences were that her hair was a mix of dark pink and purple, and her eyes were a dark candy teal.

_What? Who are you? H-hey! _The mysterious woman bent down and kissed Utethy gently on the lips. _Ohhh… so this is how kissing a girl feels like- hm?_ Utethy felt tears on her face, but she wasn't crying; the woman was. Utethy looked into her eyes and saw they were overflowing with tears. She felt bad for her and wiped the tears of her face.

"There, there," she whispered so only the woman could hear. "It's alright."

"_No. Nothing is alright." _The woman responded in a whispery ethereal voice. _"You will be hunted. You will be scarred for life. You will experience things no girl should ever know. Your innocence will be cruelly stolen from you, and your power will be coveted by all who oppose you and fight with you. Your enemies and allies will both hate and love you." _

"What?" she asked

"_You are…you are…" _the woman didn't finish, for another onslaught of tears racked her body. _"I can't tell you. You must find out for yourself who you are." _The woman sniffed and wiped away her tears. _"Save them. Please." _

Utethy was about to respond, but the woman vanished in a blink of an eye. She blinked rapidly for a few minutes, and then noticed something shiny in the corner of her eye. Utethy sat up and walked over to Zek's chest. She lifted it open and gasped.

Inside were her tomboyish uniform, her locket, and her ring.

She hurriedly stripped herself and put on the uniform. It looked as if it had been washed to get out some of the blood stains. Utethy smiled and lifted her locket. She clipped it on and opened it, admiring her smiling parents. Finally, she slipped on her most precious ring. She placed the ring under her nose and sniffed.

"Still smells like roses."

* * *

Zek yawned and stretched in his bed. Sala was taken care of (finally) and now he could finally be at peace with his bride. It was about time.

Say, where was she?

He opened his eyes and saw the blurred image of Utethy. Not in her dress, but in her uniform. Her hair was up in its usual boyish style.

"Utethy." He said. "What's going on? Where's your dress?"

"Gone." She spat. "It wasn't like me to just give up my nobility."

He groaned. "Be quiet about that. Put on your dress. You look better in that than you do in that worthless outfit"

She smiled. "No. No I won't. This is my life, Zek, not yours. I'm not your puppet anymore."

And with that she walked out.

* * *

Utethy bent down and touched Sala's forehead gently. He was still unconscious, but it was a relief he wasn't dead. She shook him, trying to wake him, but to no avail. She wanted to kiss him, but she knew better. She owed her life to Sala; he stood up to his tyrant brother in her name, for her to leave.

Sala suddenly moved and opened his eyes. He blinked a few times and reached out to cup Utethy's face. "Thank you."

"No, thank _you_. Sala, listen…I'm sorry for not sticking up for you yesterday. But now I'm back to being the way I was."

"And I like it better that way. You in a dress just isn't a pretty sight."

She rolled her eyes. "Hardy har har, Sala. I'm already laughing."

A small scream echoed outside. Undoubtedly it was one of the triplets. She smiled at Sala and went to help her little babies.

Aa and Un were kicking the tiny Grunts and torturing them along with other Jackals. She saw Ai curl into a little ball to protect himself, but Un mercilessly kicked him, sending the little infant shrieking in pain.

Utethy's blood boiled, she had to stop them. Immediately running to the scene, she calmly picked up Ai and soothed him with a song. Yuu and Kei hid behind her legs. The three babies were beside themselves with happiness that their mama was back.

"So," Un sneered. "The noble prince has returned."

"Damn right." She hissed. "Don't you _ever touch _my babies again! Or else you'll pay for it!"

"Really?" Aa laughed, but it was silenced a moment later when Utethy punched his sensitive beak. He fell to the ground in agony.

Utethy smirked. Un growled.

"You…how _dare _you hurt my brother!" the bird-like creature howled.

"Well, how dare you harm my babies! And since when do birds of a feather fall to the ground after one punch?" she smirked

Un roared in anger and swung a fist at her chest cavity, were the bones would splinter and crush her heart. Utethy carefully placed Ai down before ducking, and kicking the Jackal off her feet. Un fell head first on a rock, rendering her stupefied for a few moments.

Utethy stood triumphantly over the Jackal twins. The baby Grunts cheered and danced in a circle around her chanting "mama's back!". She crouched down and hugged her triplets, kissing them each on the head. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and Utethy turned to see Sala. He was smiling at her and rubbed her shoulder.

"Glad to see you didn't get injured." He said

"Ditto."

Yuu wrapped his short arms around her and kissed her on the cheek. "We love you, Mama!"

"And I love you three." She held the little babies for five minutes before she realized something was wrong Utethy stood and was met by the back of Zek's hand colliding with her tender face. She stumbled before she fell, rubbing her face and checking for blood.

"Stupid girl!" he hissed "Won't you ever stop causing trouble!"

"Won't your crazed birdbrains leave my babies alone!"

He growled and yanked her from the ground. "Your 'babies' are _WORTHLESS!" _

"Fuck you! You don't even know what worth is!"

Zek hissed between his mandibles. "Why are you doing this? I thought you loved me!"

"_Bull_shit! I've got the two things that mean the world to me; my ring and my locket. You can kiss my ass. And, by the way, you can blow _yourself _from now on!"

A growl emitted from Zek's throat and he reached out claw-like to grab her neck, meaning to break it in two. He missed and she ran from the camp like wings were on her feet.

"Don't let her get away! She's my property!"

Utethy kept running. She didn't care about being tired, or that her throat was dry and raw. _Please dear Christ help me out of here. I don't want to be that evil thing's useless item. _

She ran until her eyes stung from the wind and was about to stop for a short time when plasma bolt raced past her. Utethy turned and saw Zek with the entire camp behind him with weapons of all kinds. Fear gripped her heart and she continued running, tears threatening to spill down her face.

"It's no use, Utethy! Just stop fighting and I'll make you're death painless!"

She didn't stop. Utethy kept running, even when she felt like vomiting onto the grass. Plasma bolts soared past her and she quickly became more scared.

"Help! Help! Please! Someone! Anyone! HEEEEEELP-oh!" she tripped and fell. Utethy scrambled to her feet, but stopped when she felt Zek's massive hoof pin her to the ground.

"This is it, love. Your end."

"Zek!" she sat upright. "P-please…don't do this. I've got so much to live for-"

"_I'm _the _only _thing you have to live for. Without me you are nothing. You need me." The Elite's words were dark and his voice was hard.

"I don't need-" Utethy was silenced by the sight of a plasma rifle. The Covenant soldiers stood behind him and watched. "Zek…you son of a bitch, you wouldn't kill me."

He nodded his head. "Think of this as a punishment. You've been disobedient and this is your reward."

Aa and Un sniggered evilly, adding only more pain to Utethy's situation. She scanned the crowed and found familiar faces; Sala, Yayoi, her tiny babies who would live without a foster mother. They would grow up and become cruel like Zek.

Zek positioned the gun to her head and smiled cruelly.

"Goodbye."

A gunshot rang in the air, but it wasn't from Zek's plasma rifle. The alien gun was shot out of his hand before he could even have time to fire. Everyone turned to see who had dared come between Zek and his human bride. Alas, no one had time to think, for it seemed that a grenade had been tossed from nowhere. It exploded, but the soldiers had already dived out of the way. Utethy hoped it would be her chance to get away, but Zek had grabbed her shoulders and held her in front of him as if she were a shield. Once the dust had cleared Utethy saw the humans that lifted her spirits just days before. Her eyes widened and hope stirred inside of her, despite the fact that Zek's heated breath was on the back on her neck and his claws dug into her shoulder. Both sides took battle stances and aimed their weapons, but once the human side caught side of Utethy, confusion settled in.

The first human soldier cocked his head. "What the! A _kid_! How the hell did this happen?" He shook his head and turned to his fellow soldiers and gestured to her. "Get a load of this; a kid…on a place like this."

"Weird." Another commented, and then said to Zek; "Care explaining to us how she got here?" Zek growled and shouted in his native tongue to fire at them. While the battle ensued, he began to drag a pleading Utethy away from the scene.

"Zek! Where are you taking me?" she asked innocently, frightened

"Be quiet. I'm going to finish what I started. First, I'm going to throw you to the ground. Second, I'm going to beat you until your bones are dust. Third, I will kill you with my bare hands." His eyes contained a fired that told her that this monster was speaking the truth. She was scared, very scared.

"But…" he began softly, lowering her to the ground and crouching in front of her. "I'm not completely heartless. I will give you the last of my love. I will always love you, Utethy, it's just the fact that you're too…too…"

"Bitchy?"

"In a way," Zek shrugged. "I love you…and I'd take you to my planet if I could, but I can't. If we could, I'd make you happier than you've ever been. So this is goodbye."

And with that, he violently pushed her to the ground and kissed her fiercely. His tongue wrapped around hers and his hands roamed around her body. Utethy found no pleasure in it. This wasn't how she wanted to die. The kiss broke off and Zek took his place as a monster again. He stood above her and picked up his rifle. He aimed carefully.

"Hold it!"

The battle didn't come to a halt, but Utethy's heart began to race at breakneck speed. She recognized that voice. Everyone did.

She carefully turned her head. Her eyes widened and Zek's attention turned to the man in green armor. The man walked to their place and faced Zek.

"Care to tell me what you were doing with him?"

"I'm a girl, moron." Utethy mumbled.

"Whatever. Leave her alone. Or they'll be hell to pay."

Zek smiled and rolled his eyes. "Oh, really? Well then, I must inform you that this girl is my bride, and thus, she is my property."

The man in green armor growled. "She's a human. And if I recall from the past years, Covenant and human forces have been at each other's throats. I've also heard that Elites were to be extremely brutal with human POWs, so why make this poor soul your bride?"

"None of your damned business, human."

The man took up the gun and leveled it at Zek's head. "Then I'll _make _it my business."

Zek fired his rifle, but it caused almost no effect on the man's green armor. The fighting continues, but this time reinforcements came. A Wraith tank and more alien fighters joined the battle, and Utethy was torn between helping the man in green armor, and running away.

Her thoughts of running away grew when a flaming ball of white soared from the tank. The ground shook as it landed, and a black hole surfaced where it at once been soft and green.

Utethy bit her lip, decided she lived a good life.

And charged into the fight.

Unfortunately for her, a Jackal not with Zek's platoon fired at her side, burning her. But she didn't care. Utethy jerked her head towards the Jackal and watched as it laughed and whipped her with the pistol.

Anger burned inside of her. But it wasn't at the Jackal, it was at Zek. It was all his fault he was in this position. All his fault for making her his bride. She spun around and glared daggers at her husband fighting her race. Blood leaked down her face, and she sensed the Jackal was ready to finish her off. Utethy didn't care. She felt something stir inside of her and change. A weird, odd sense of calmness, but at the same time a sense of nostalgia.

Utethy roared in the same, unfamiliar voice, and almost flown to kill of Zek for good. But he heard the yell and whipped around. Seeing the mysterious figure charging at him with the Sacred Sword made him a bit intimidated, but he grabbed the figure and threw him at the rock wall only feet away. Utethy slammed into the wall and fell to her knees, her back in agony. She groaned and stood, wobbling as her weary legs adjusted to her weight.

By that time Utethy noticed the enormous tank was aiming for her.

Her eyes darted in every direction, hoping to find an escape. There was none. The tank fired, and she screamed in fear. Utethy wanted to shut her eyes from the gigantic white ball that was heading her way. She prayed for a miracle-

"Gotcha!"

Strong arms wrapped around her, and she and the green armored man fell to the ground. The white ball crashed into the cliff wall, sending dust and rock shattered everywhere. Utethy clutched onto the man, barely conscience. His head lifted and watched out for any remaining Covenant. Zek and his platoon had retreated, but extraterrestrial bodies were everywhere, along with some human bodies. The remaining six Marines gathered around the man and Utethy. They were talking about her, she knew it, but she was focused on the green armored man. She was still in his arms, and he was breathing heavily. Her world then faded to black.

* * *

_8 year old Balamiya Utethy looked out the window of her parents' car. Her candy teal eyes were aglow from the street lights and her light auburn hair was neatly placed behind her head. It was raining heavily, but it was the rose season after all. They needed it. _

"_Mommy! Can we go to the toy store?" she said bouncing in her seat. _

_Her mother smiled. "No, sweetie, but we'll try tomorrow." _

_Utethy pouted, but nodded her head. She always obeyed her parents, much to their delight and relief. Her father frowned ant the speeding car that flew past him and his wife grabbed a hold on her seat._

"_Dear, be careful. These streets are dangerous." _

_The car came to a screeching halt as the stoplight turned red. Utethy's father smiled at his only daughter. "Baby girl, how're you doing?" _

"_I'm doin' good, Da!" _

"_How did you like your dinner, my baby?" _

_Utethy's face twisted into a disgusted expression. "Icky. The peas were gross." _

_Her parents laughed and continued on their way home. But they would never get there. _

_Utethy watched the vehicles as they began to cross a bridge, the river below it shallow, yet muddy. A truck beside them began to screech as the wheels began to come loose from their proper place. The little girl gasped as the truck slammed into them. Her father kept a firm hold on the steering wheel while her mother reached back and grabbed her daughter's hand. _

"_Mommy! I-I'm scared!" she yelped in fear. _

"_I know…I know…" _

_The truck's wheels finally broke off and rammed into the car next to it, catching fire and killing the driver. The small family car flipped a few times before becoming another fireball next to the truck. _

_Utethy moaned in pain as she stumbled onto the glass covered pavement and out of the muddy river. She'd apparently flown out through the windshield (lying to her mother and father about buckling her seatbelt saved her life) and landed in the river. Utethy gasped and ran to her parents' car. _

"_Mommy! Daddy!" she screamed over and over in vain, hoping they would reply. Through the flamed she could see the horrifying image of her parents' corpses becoming one with the fire. She fell to her knees and cried her heart out. She wanted to die along with her parents. She wanted to throw herself into the fire. She stood up and ran closer but was over whelmed by the heat. There was nothing to but cry. _

_Utethy then noticed that someone was beside of her, holding her close and rocking her soothingly. She wrapped her arms around the strange figure, hungry to someone to love. She figure broke off the hug and looked into Utethy's eyes. His own eyes became misty looking and kissed away her sad tears. _

"_Little one, who bears much sorrow," the figure said "You are much too young to experience such a tragedy such as this."_

"_Who…are you?" she sniffled. _

"_You shall know soon. You are never alone. I am always with you. Here. Take this ring." He slipped a ring onto Utethy's left ring finger and caressed her face. _

"_Do you still want to die?" he asked softly. _

"_No!" she shook her head violently. _

"_Then you must live your life strongly and noble life if you wish to see me again." _

_The figure stood and walked away into a light, leaving Utethy with an awed look upon her face. She blinked and heard the earsplitting sound of ambulances and police cars. Once doctor raced over to Utethy and inspected her minor wounds. She cocked her head at Utethy's priceless ring and smiled. _

"_Did your parents give you that?" _

"_No." she said. _

"_I guess then it's a very special present. Listen; your parents are dead. Do you understa-" The woman was cut off by Utethy nodding sagely, understanding completely. _

_The woman sighed. "Let's go to the hospital and discuss this there." _

_She was carried into the ambulance and was taken to the hospital. She was put into foster homes and stayed with many people. But her goal always stayed the same. No matter how cruel or evil her caretaker (or caretakers were) was, her goal always stayed the same. _

"_**I will be a strong and noble prince." **_

* * *

Yaaay! I'm finally back! Woot! Anyhoots, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'm terribly sorry for the delay, I just got re-acquainted with my _Bishoujo Senshi Seeraa Muun_. SO that explains why. 


	14. Protection When Needed

_Thank you for protecting me _

* * *

**The Hanging Garden **

Just so you know; I have no deadlines for fanfiction, so expect a small hiatus now and then. I hope not to make them long, but I just want to give everyone a heads up on why I'm not updating 24/7, 365. I never knew that people really liked it so much that they'd review only for the sake of me updating. For you people who like it so much, the entire story is for you.

* * *

**Chapter 14 : Protection When Needed **

_I want to be…a strong and noble prince. _

_I don't want to be a princess. Princesses don't have that much fun anyways. They just sit around and act pretty and elegant, never experiencing anything. _

…

_I want to be my own "Knight in Shining Armor", saving myself instead of letting someone else do it for me. I want to be a hero. _

_On that day I lost my parents, my prince planted a seed that would change my life forever. He saved my life and taught me to be strong and brave when situations were frightening and other people would back down. _

_I want to be virtuous and chivalrous, to be gallant and be someone for people to think 'Wow! If she can do that, think of the things we can do!" _

…

_I hope I'm not with Zek. I hope that it all wasn't a dream and I'm in that stupid little bed Zek gave me. Sala…my babies…I hope you're okay. Please God…if there is a god…get me out of here. _

_I feel something soft under me. Hmm…it feels like a feathery couch. And there's… what seems to be a really heavy (but comfortable) blanket covering me. _

_Is this a pillow under my head?_

_I. Don't. Want. To. Wake. Up. _

_It's just too lovely and warm. Mmmm…maybe I'm home- _

"Harris! Pass the butter."

"The Good Lord gave you legs for a reason, you lazy ingrate."

The owner of the first voice grumbled.

_What-!_

Utethy dared open her eyes, and saw twelve Marines at a makeshift table. She shifted to sit up slightly, covering her body. A man took a huge bite out of a doughnut and looked up.

"So, you're awake." he said still chewing.

"What am I doing here?"

"You know, it's not everyday we save a boy from certain death, and this is how you thank us?" the man snorted. The others stopped eating and turned around and looked at her. "You should be kissing our feet."

"First of all, I'm a girl. Second of all, I won't thank anybody except the man in the green armor. _He's _the real guy who saved my life."

An older looking man groaned. "Oh, you mean that freak."

She cocked her head. "Freak? What do you mean? He looks perfectly natural to me."

"Yeah, that's what they want you to think." The older man warned sagely. "But he's unnatural, ya hear? _Don't _trust him. The Master Chief is one of them Spartans; some say he's the last. He might as well be, after Reach was destroyed."

"_What!_" She shouted in confusion. Reach? Master Chief? Spartans? What the hell was wrong with these people?

"What are you telling her?"

The green armored man stepped into Utethy's vision and she sucked in a breath. He was much more intimidating up close.

"She doesn't need to have those negative thoughts planted in her head. It's hard enough trying to fight the Covenant." He said, then turned to Utethy and his voice softened. "Are you alright?"

Utethy's voice was lost and her heart beat wildly. She simply nodded her head. The green armored man continued. "I bet your hungry, you've been unconscious for days."

"Huh?"

"You fainted three days ago, at the last battle, remember?"

"Yeah! And the couch is were _I _sleep!" a man with a Mexican accent said. "With you there I had to sleep on the floor like a dog. I took that as a racial statement." His last two words sent laughter amongst the Marines. The green armored man returned to Utethy with a plate with pancakes and a muffin on the side. She bit into the pancake and immediately felt a bit better. The man watched as she ate, carefully observing her in case she chocked or fainted again. In minutes her plate was empty and the man took it took to a sink.

"Where am I?"

"On a ship." A Marine answered.

"A…sea ship?"

"Sea ship? Christ no, a space ship." He sipped orange juice and continued. "A downed Pelican we found. It's equipped with everything. Literally! And no Covenant bastard would even think to look around here."

Utethy's confusion surfaced again. "Waaaait a second. A space ship? This is a space shuttle, right? The black and white ones?"

The Marines shook their heads. The Master Chief answered. "You know what a Pelican is, right?"

"No…"

"It's a human dropship. This one just has a lot of things humans need. More of a…specialty Pelican."

At first Utethy didn't respond. She was just so confused with everything. And nobody was helping her.

"Everything's moving so fast." Utethy said. "I don't know what to do. I need to get back home."

The man in green armor sighed. "I know you do. Say, how old are you? You're way too young to be here."

"Guess."

"Fifteen."

She grinned. "Close."

"Fourteen."

The grin grew wider. "Even closer."

"_Thirteen?" _

She nodded.

"Jesus Christ." The Master Chief sighed. "How'd you get here?"

Utethy bit her lower lip. How could she explain without making them think she was a crazed idiot? Make up a story, she decided.

"My, uh, dad's in the, um, Army so…so because I love him I followed him here." She stuttered throughout the excuse, and it was obvious the men weren't buying it.

"Cute. Now what's the _real_ answer?" The Mexican man said. She looked at his name tag and it said _Pvt. Douglas, Chip._

She blinked a few times, remembering something funny and then laughed out loud. Utethy recalled the sounds of telephones ringing and the angry sounds of the annoyed people as the callers played around with them.

"What's so funny, bitch?" Chip said irritated.

"Hey!" The Chief growled. "Don't call her a bitch."

Utethy finally was able to speak. "N-no…it's o-k-kay." Another fit of laughter. "I was just remembering a show back on Earth called 'Crank Yankers'. It's about these people who make prank calls to other people, only that their all puppets and it's so funny and dirty. And there's this Mexican character named Chip Douglas who makes the stupidest calls."

Chip cocked his head. "O-kaaay. That was weird. And I've never been to Earth, but I've heard it's nice. Me, I'm from Coral."

"I'm from Jericho-VII. The brandy there was incredible." A young man said. "Too bad the Covenant glassed it and Coral."

"Don't forget Reach and the other colonies." The Master Chief said solemnly. "We can't forget the others who died."

"Uh, excuse me, but aren't you _all _from Earth?" Utethy said, scared of the answer. "Humans are from Earth. If your not, your aliens."

"Back in the dark ages it was, but Earth's colonies are, well, _were_ everywhere." The young man said. "By the way, I'm Jonathan Harris, age twenty-two."

"Uh, dare I ask what year it is?"

"2552, my little lady. And what colony are _you _fro-oh. I forgot; you're an Earth kid."

"C-colonies? As in human colonies?" she said. "Oh…oh God."

"Kid, the year is 2552 AD, you know that. Don't act like you're surprised." Harris said.

Utethy stood and wobbled, her legs getting used to her weight after a long rest. "I'm from the year 2004!"

A Marine laughed. "Right, and the Covenant are only attacking us because they have too much free time."

"…Maybe. Anyway, I'm not from the 25th Century! I'm from the _21st _Century!" She said desperately.

The Master Chief shook his head. "Okay, calm down. Obviously you're delusional. I'll try and get you back to Earth, but first, what's your name?"

"My name's Balamiya Utethy…" she sat down again. "Last name first, that's my culture."

"Okay. So, you can't sleep on the couch anymore, mainly because Private Douglas had dibs on it first. The only spare bed is in Cortana's room; and she's pretty territorial."

"Another girl? Finally…I thought I was going to sleep with a bunch of guys. No offense, anyway."

"None taken."

"So…how old is Cortana? I bet she's about…oh, I dunno…20-something."

The Chief smiled underneath his helmet. "Well, she acts that way."

"So she's not 20?"

"Have you heard of an AI?"

Utethy blinked her eyes. "Um…not really."

"It stands for Artificial Intelligence. She's one of the UNSC's best AIs and one of my closest friends." He said, his voice soft at the thought of her.

"Can I meet her?"

"Well, since you're going to be roommates, I see that would be a good idea."

Douglas gave a lopsided smile. "Just stay on her good side. She can be like a real animal when it comes to arguments. She _always _wins." He gave a thumbs-up. "Good luck, kid."

The Chief lead her away from the kitchen and down the main hall. She walked closely behind him so not to get lost, even though it was a small Pelican. She feared that Zek and his little army of freaks might still be hunting for her, and if they caught her-

"We're here."

The room was somewhat pitch black. It was circular and in the middle of the room was a large glowing blue consol. It had lines and some incomprehensive words scrolling up, down, left, right. To the left of the consol was a small bed complete with two pillows and a blanket.

"Cortana?"

Immediately the hologram of a woman appeared. It happened so fast that Utethy gasped and jumped back. She was astonished by the fact that humans could even produce something so advanced as this. The hologram was approximately four feet high and had a curvy figure of a woman in her prime. Binary code scrolled up and down her body at a fast and yet slow pace. Her hair was short and cropped in a boy's style like Utethy's and her eyes held no pupils, just a brilliant shade of royal blue.

The Master Chief held onto her shoulders, steadying her. "It's okay; nothing's going to hurt you."

"Unless you piss me off." The hologram snickered. Her voice was luscious and intelligent, motherly, yet sisterly at the same time.

"Cortana, this is Utethy, she'll be sharing the same room as you." He said.

"H-Hi" she shakily waved her hand.

Cortana smiled and folded her arms. "Ooh. Looks like the Chief himself has gotten himself a nice little lady."

"Cortana…knock it off."

"Alright, I will. Just explain to me why a thirteen year old is on this Pelican."

The Chief sighed. "I don't know. All I _do _know is that she was kidnapped by the Covenant-"

Cortana's eyes widened and gasped. "What? What did you say?"

"It was hell. I was married to this crackhead of an alien named Zek 'Erentaree. He is the commander of a group of Covenant aliens. I made some friends there…but Zek attempted to-"

"Screw _that_!" Cortana said angrily. "I don't want to hear about your personal troubles with the Covenant! Tell me…Utethy, did any Covenant soldier talk to you about their plans!"

"What?"

"Did this Zek or _any other Covenant official _talk to you about their future plans!" She was loosing it.

She looked down and thought for a moment "Well, I did see these squid headed aliens-"

"Elites" Chief interrupted. "Those squid-faced sons of a bitch are called Elites. They're tough bastards."

"Okay; they're called… 'Elites'." Utethy said, "So I saw Zek and these other Elites speaking in their native tongue and pouring over this map of some sort. And another time I-"

"And and _AND_!" Cortana grit her teeth

"And I overheard Zek talking to this other Elite about the…Great Journey and how the Hierarchs will be pleased." She shrugged. "That's about it. Zek never talked to me about why the Covenant-"

Cortana's eyes flashed red for a moment. "Anything else?..."

"No, that's just about it."

She sighed and folded her arms. "It's not enough information, but it helps a little."

"I guess…" Utethy said folding her own arms.

There was a long pause, then finally the Master Chief spoke. "I'm going to my own bedroom. You two should get to know each other after all."

He turned and left, leaving the AI and the human girl alone.

"So…" Cortana mumbled.

"So…" Utethy said lowly.

"…so…"

"…so?"

Cortana's head shook. "Why are you here?"

Utethy shrugged. "I, uh, don't really know, actually."

"So are you trying to tell me you just…_appeared_…out of nowhere?"

She just stood silently. Utethy said not a word. She didn't want to expose her prince to anyone but herself.

"Where are you from?"

"Earth. But…the men all said this was 2552. Please tell me it isn't. I….I need to get home. To my own time."

"Ah," the AI said. "Well, I personally think that you're full of crap. Tell me…what year _are _you from then?"

"2004." Utethy said.

"So…you're a 21st Century girl. Do you have any proof?"

"Um…" Utethy thrust her hands into her pockets and curled them into fists.

Cortana sighed and shook her head. "I knew it. You're one of the Covenant-"

"_NO!_ I will never be one of them!" Utethy lashed out at the AI with all her might in her voice. "Huh?...hold on…" she felt her pockets a bit more and pulled out a slider cell phone. This was enough proof. Hopefully.

"Cortana…here. Examine this. If this doesn't tell you that I'm from the 21st century…" Utethy shrugged and let the sentence hang in the air.

Cortana's "eyebrows" went up and she gestured the girl where to place it. The cell phone glowed a violet-blue as the AI received the incoming data. She snapped her eyes open and the cell phone stopped pulsating. Cortana looked a bit sorry for her actions.

"Well…I see that this…um…"

"Cell phone." Utethy mumbled.

"Right. Anyway, this undoubtedly proves that you are indeed from the 21st Century. I…I guess I owe you an apology."

"Damn right…"

Cortana's eyes narrowed. "Listen, just because I was…_wrong_-" she spat out the word. Utethy would later realize that "smart" AIs hated to be (proven) wrong. "-doesn't mean you must brag about it. Alright. I'm sorry for being _wrong._"

Utethy smiled warmly. "It's okay, Cortana."

"So how exactly did you get here?"

_Alright, how do I explain this? _Utethy blinked her eyes a few times before thinking up an answer.

"I fell down a hole in the ground back in my own time and I ended up here. I know it's unbelievable." Utethy said awkwardly.

"Damn right it's unbelievable."

"Well, it's how I got here, and if you want me to launch into some crazy made-up story about how I ended up in this hell, be my guest."

"No. You answered truthfully, and I thank you for that," Cortana said. The AI smile suddenly. "The Chief somehow has a liking for you, Utethy. I can tell by the way he speaks."

Utethy smiled as well. "How do you mean? As in 'I-like-you-very-much-make-your-self-at-home' kind of liking? Or perhaps a 'You-kick-so-much-ass-I-love-you-'till-the-day-I-die-and-beyond' kind of liking?"

"Well, as long as I've known him, he's never shown any sort of love towards his companions. So it's a mutual liking." She teased. "So it's the 'I-like-you-very-much-make-yourself-at-home' kind of liking."

Utethy ran her fingers through her short hair and collapsed on the cot next to the AI. Her candy teal eyes stared up at the ceiling and she sighed. How she missed her home. Well, it wasn't much of a home, with those abusive foster parents of hers. She was going to be placed in another foster home in a few weeks. Somewhere in New York City with this upper-class widow and her 12-year-old son.

"So…what's the 21st Century like?"

Utethy sat up and blinked. "What's it _like?_ Hmmm…well, I guess it's less technological than Earth now. People are still on Earth, right?"

"Yes."

"That's good to hear." Utethy whispered and allowed her thoughts to trail back to her emotionally wrecked home.

Cortana frowned. "Is something wrong?"

Utethy nodded. "My foster parents…they beat me…starved me…" Tears welled up in her eyes. "No…only babies cry."

Cortana shook her head and tisked a few times. "How cruel."

"No kidding," Utethy snorted angrily.

An awkward silence again filled the room, nothing but the hum of the consol Cortana "stood" on. The AI wasn't experienced with adolescents, but she could tell an emotional wreck when she saw one. And Utethy was a shining example of a kid with some issues. But what could a UNSC AI do for this poor soul? Well, the sad answer would have to be nothing.

* * *

Days passed and Utethy began to warm up to her new surroundings. Unlike the Covenant, the Marines were the same as they were in the 21st Century; loyal, reliable, and pretty funny when they could be. Cortana and Utethy began to grow a strong bond between one another, each regarding the other as a sister figure. Utethy, though, found the Master Chief as an interesting guardian, and wanted to learn more about him. However, Cortana wouldn't even say one thing about his past except that "he's one hell of a soldier."

"You'll know one day," she said during one of their conversations.

But Utethy didn't want to be patient and get bored. She needed to know who the man behind the helmet was- literally.

And she did.

It was after dinner (if you could call it that) when she decided to take a shower. Utethy began wandering the ship, trying to find a bathroom. Without any luck at all she was about to give up, when she felt a tap on the shoulder.

"You lost?"

It was Harris; the man who kept staring at her right through the whole dinner. She turned around and smiled.

"No, I'm just trying to find a shower. I smell bad." She smiled as well as Harris.

"Well, the showers are to the left corridor," he said, pointing left. "Would you like me to show you?"

"Sure, I'm bound to get lost anyway." She walked next to him as he directed her to the showers. He kept staring at her out of the corner of his eye, and that disturbed her for a reason.

"Well, here we are," he opened to door and gently pushed her in. She nodded and looked around the room, not noticing that Harris had also entered and locked the door behind him.

"Nice. Very, _very _nice. My mom always liked puce and teal-huh?" She gasped as Harris pushed her up against a wall. A hungry glint formed in his eyes as he smiled victoriously.

"You're mine now, little princess." He whispered. "No one can save you now…"

"Wh-what! LET ME GO!" Utethy began to struggle as he ripped open her shirt, but she didn't care.

"I ain't gonna hurt you…" he forcefully wrapped his arms around her as she continued to fight back. "I ain't gonna hunt you, my princess…"

_Princess! I'm no princess! Try prince you bastard! _

"Help me! Please someone hel-" She was stopped by his hand that muffled the cries. She still attempted to cry out, but no one could hear her. Harris unbuttoned her pants and powerfully ripped them off, leaving her with a torn school blouse, bra and rose-colored panties to cover her.

Enough was enough, she delivered a punch to the nose, and he was down on the ground for five seconds. Blood was gushing out of his nose at an alarming rate. Utethy smirked; she'd broken his nose.

"Why you-!" He lunged at Utethy and back handed her face. Again he attacked her, and again she screamed for help at the top of her lungs. She didn't care who heard her, as long as he helped her.

She closed her eyes as Harris delivered another blow to her face when her prayers were answered.

"_WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!"_

She didn't bother to look up or uncurl herself from the fetal position; she just listened as her rescuer beat the hell out of Harris. Tears were spilling down her face from pain and fear. Her breathing was heavy and she needed water badly. Suddenly the beating stopped and she heard footsteps coming toward her.

Utethy felt a soft hand rest on her head and scratch it. "You okay?"

Slowly she picked up her head and gasped.

It was the Master Chief.

"Bu-but how…Harris locked the door. How did you get in?" Her voice trembled as she tried to be calm.

"I heard your screams and I knew who it was immediately. Nothing, not even a locked door could prevent me from saving your life." Beneath his helmet he smiled, but she didn't see it, thus didn't smile back. He didn't mention the fact that he had super strength from the enhancements, and that made it easy for him to break down the door.

"Thank you." Was all she could muster.

"Are you hurt?"

"No…"

"Did he try-"

"Yes."

…

"I see."

A brief silence ensued before Utethy started crying. If it weren't for this man, she would've been Harris' little sex toy about now. She owed him big.

The Master Chief frowned beneath the helmet and held her like a father would do to his child. His armor was uncomfortable, but instead of pushing him away, she just embraced him. She was tired and forgot about her shower.

"Come with me." He said

She nodded and gathered her clothes. Utethy grabbed the nearest towel and wrapped it around herself. This man was surprisingly gentle for a soldier.

She stayed by his side and they walked together down to his quarters. There he allowed her to use his shower and helped her freshen up. After she had a turn, the Master Chief announced that he would take a shower as well. Sitting bored upon the Chief's bed, Utethy brushed wet stands of her hair away from her face before something caught her eye. It was a piece of paper, with names written on it. Curiosity eventually got to her and she looked.

_SPARTAN-II MIA/KIA_

_Li-008 : MIA_

_Joshua-029 : MIA_

_Vinh-030 : MIA_

_Samuel-034 : KIA _

_Isaac-039_ _: MIA _

_Anton-044 : MIA _

_Grace-093 : KIA _

Utethy raised a brow before seeing a picture. She picked it up and looked at a little boy, no older than six with messy brown hair and playful eyes of the same color. He was smiling open mouthed and she could see the gap between his front teeth. He had six freckles on each of his cheeks.

"They didn't bother listing us."

Utethy spun around and was surprised to see the Chief. He motioned towards the paper she read. "We weren't human enough to be listed along with other soldiers. There are plenty more SPARTANS who died…that's just a little sample…"

"SPARTANS? What…who are you talking about?" She pointed to the picture. "Is this you?"

"Yes…before life took away all innocence."

Utethy didn't know what to say. He was extremely adorable as a six year old, and suddenly had the urge to have a little boy just like him. "What is you name?"

"John."

She blinked and looked at him. "What do you mean by 'not human enough'? You're not a freak to me. You're the nicest guy I ever met."

He didn't respond. Instead he just smiled and ruffled her hair. "You're so innocent, Utethy." He said. "I wish I could go back to being thirteen and live a normal life."

"What…are you talking about?"

She placed her hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him. But instead was shocked. For some reason, she could feel the enhancement through his flesh. The muscle was tight and the bones seemed virtually unbreakable.

John wasn't surprised. "Well?"

"Well what? This…this is the most amazing thing I've ever seen."

"….I'm not natural. I'm only amazing in battle." He paused to stare at her. "Let me guess…you're going to call me a freak like everyone else. Am I right?"

"No."

"Good."

Another silence in the room. Then Utethy first noticed his facial features for the first time. She noted that he had the classic military haircut and the same brown eyes. He looked so handsome…

If only she wasn't so young…

"Are you tired?"

She blinked. "E-excuse me?"

"Are you tired, I said."

She nodded.

"Alright." He gestured to the bed. "Get in."

"But where are you gonna sleep?" she asked.

"Same place."

Utethy gasped.

"Relax. I'm not going to do anything to you. I'm just going to mind my own business and make sure no one harms you again like that jackass Harris did." John growled.

"Okay."

Utethy still felt uncomfortable, no matter what he said. The only things she was wearing were her unbuttoned school uniform top, her bra and underwear. _Jeez. This can't get any worse for me, can they? _

She crawled into the large (and comfortable, she noted) bed and nestled into the many folds of sheets and blankets. Utethy tried to ignore the depression of the bed as the Master Chief took up the other side. She closed her eyes and tried to get a jump start on sleep.

Then she felt John's muscular arms enclose around her and held her close to his strong body.

She tensed and whimpered at being practically bare in front of this powerful warrior who could easily overpower her and strip Utethy of her virginity.

John sighed. "God, calm down. I'm doing this so that if anyone comes for you, they'll have to get through me first. Got it? Nothing sexual. I'm not sick in the head like Harris."

She nodded and closed her eyes again. The Chief held her closer until she could hear his heart beating.

Soon she faded into blessed unconsciousness, her protector always near.

_Thank you for protecting me…_

* * *

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH! I'm soooooo sorry I kept you all waiting! I really didn't mean it! I'm starting Chapter 15 ASAP! 


	15. Beginning of a New Day

_Some mysteries must stay mysteries_

* * *

**The Hanging Garden **

Okay. THIS time I won't screw up and put it off until… God knows when. My sincerest of apologies, ladies and gentlemen. Yeah, yeah, I know I'm lazy. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I can guarantee that after this chapter, the Halo story will unfold. Taking Utethy in it, weather she likes it or not. And so far, she's not. Heh, wait 'till you get to a **_VERY_**

special part in the story. You will NOT see it coming, I can promise you.

And to a very special person named "Kaiburr", I extend my hand to you in friendship. You know my e-mail address, I presume. Feel free to e-mail me anytime.

* * *

**Chapter 15 : Beginning of a New Day **

Utethy woke to the sound of soft snoring beside her. John's arms were still around her body, yet wasn't as strong as the first three hours. True to his word, John hadn't tried to pull anything and she began to trust him.

_SNORE! _

"Goddamn Covenant…"

_SNORE! _

"…fire at the Elite…"

Utethy rolled her eyes and smiled. He was talking in his sleep. She had to admit, it was pretty funny, but it was late and she just really wanted to sleep.

_SNORE! _

"…the Grunt has my wallet…"

She suppressed an onslaught of giggles that threatened to ripple through her and awake John. It was just so funny!

_SNORE! _

"…someone get the sandwich…"

Utethy sighed happily to herself, glad that she met such a wonderful guy.

* * *

_Her dreams were wild, untamed. She dreamed of bodies buried in blood-red roses. Thorny vines grew around the corpses and some twisted themselves around crosses. Her ring glittered in an unnatural fashion, almost in a heavenly light. A wind picked up, sending petals dancing in the sky. _

_Utethy was frightened; something was holding her in its arms. Not in a loving way, but in a possessive way, in a lust-filled way. _

_**You're mine, **it said. **Don't fight it, my God. You're mine, always was, always will be. I did this for you…**_

_She looked at the dead, mutilated bodies in the rose garden. _

_**I did this all for you…**_

* * *

"Hey, Chief? Uh, Harris is in the public washroom in a coma and we can't find Utethy. Cortana said she was-" The private stopped as he stared at the two sleeping companions. He found it odd that the Chief was cuddling a girl, an _underage _girl. It was pretty disturbing.

Utethy stirred and shifted to get a better look at the Marine. "Morning…" she said, her voice hoarse.

The soldier was still speechless.

"Uh…breakfast." And he ran out of the room with breakneck speed. Utethy just cocked her head and wondered what he saw wrong. She brushed off the Marine's rudeness and gently shook John awake.

"John…_John_…wake up. C'mon, breakfast." She whispered, but loud enough so that he could hear her.

He groaned and opened his eyes. "Morning already?"

"Uh huh."

"You better get up before the guys eat everything and leave you starving." He turned the other way and fell back asleep. "Oh, and good morning."

She smiled and started giggling.

"What the hell's so funny?"

"You were talking in your sleep last night."

He bolted up and stared her in the eyes. "Oh, Jesus…what did I say?"

"Something about a Grunt stealing your wallet, it was funny actually." She said.

"Sorry…that's a bad habit of mine." He said, obviously embarrassed.

She simply shrugged and swung her legs out of the bed. She stretched and heard her bones crack.

"Say, Utethy, did you pack a spare uniform?"

"No…why?"

"Because it looks like you did."

He gestured over to a chair, where another uniform laid waiting. She was speechless. "B-b-but…but my uniform was…" _Oh, what the hell? _She walked over to her new uniform and inspected it. It was an exact replica of her previous uniform. She shrugged and took off her torn blouse. Until she realized that there was an older man in the room.

So she changed in the bathroom instead. To keep this man's sex drive under control.

Not like he had any interest in women, anyway.

Utethy stepped out and smiled. "So…how do I look-"

But John was asleep.

But Utethy seemed not to mind. It was early in the morning, and he's human as well…

_CRASH!_

That startled John enough into waking him up. He bolted out of bed immediately began to put on his armor. Utethy was a bit frightened, but then again, she was a black belt in Karate, so she could take on anyone.

"Holy _shit!_" The sounds of gunshots and the sound of the guns getting knocked out of hands scared Utethy more than anything. "Fuck!..."

"Where is she!" she recognized that voice…that terrible voice

_Oh Jesus Christ. He found me…_

"Utethy…stay here." She turned to see the Master Chief holding a very deadly looking gun; she nodded and hid under the sheets of the bed, making herself so inconspicuous as to look like a pillow. "Good…good. Stay here until I call for you." He patted her shoulder, feeling her tremble with fear. Why was she like this?

"Tell me where she is and none of you get hurt." A deep, masculine voice was heard outside the room. And it wasn't human.

"I'll lock the door for you. That way they can't get in." But John knew the strength of these things. A locked door was just another obstacle.

He didn't want to leave her here. But he was needed. He walked out and closed the door behind him, locking it so that these little bastards couldn't get in.

The Master Chief was used to intruders, but this downed Pelican was so well hidden.

He saw two Elites, four Grunts, and two jackals. And they were all determined to find her.

The Golden Elite was holding a dead Marine's body. It's was Harris's. Seeing John he smirked and discarded the body. "Where…is…she?" his tone was dangerous. "I won't ask again. Where is my bride?"

"Mama! Where's Mama!" Three Grunt infants danced around his legs, jumping up and down, clamoring for an answer.

The Elite growled and kicked them out of the way. He wrapped his hand around John's neck and shook him slightly. "Where is she?"

"Who are you talking about?"

"Balamiya Utethy. My bride, my wife and most importantly, my property. I believe you took her from me during out last meeting, and I'm demanding her back."

"Terribly sorry, but we don't have an Utethy here." John smirked behind his visor. "You might want to try other places."

"Alright then," The Elite nodded, and then turned to the Jackal twins." Aa, Un, find her and bring her to me. I want to feel my precious darling in my arms again."

"Yes Excellency."

They ran into the main hallway and searched every room. Utethy heard their squawking and footsteps. It wouldn't be long…

Aa stopped at the door and he sniffed it. "She's here." He whispered. "Get her out of there."

"Love to." Un reared her fist back and punched a hole clean through it. Utethy could take it no longer and screamed bloody murder. This only encouraged the twins as they rammed down the door together. They saw her leaned against the wall with a look of terror in her eyes.

"_There _you are, sweet Princess." Un smirked. "Your dear Prince awaits you. Why don't you be a good girl and come with us?"

"Bite me, Un. You know as much as I do I'd rather die."

"Zek would kill us if were to do any harm to you." Said Aa calmly.

"_I'm not going._"She said viciously.

"Fine then," Un said grabbing her arm, earning a small scream of pain. "We'll drag you there."

Utethy felt the two Jackals grab her arm in a vice grip and began to haul her away from the room. Fear took hold and she began to thrash, but they were too strong.

As soon as Utethy saw Zek's bloodstained armor, she shrieked in pure horror. She never wanted to be with him again. But he looked ecstatic, happier than he had ever been in his life.

"Aa, Un, release her."

"As you wish." Aa nodded

They let her go and stood back. Zek smiled broadly and took her hands. They were still soft and smooth. These humans would never see just how beautiful she was.

"I missed you, Utethy." He said quietly.

"Fuck you."

"Still temperamental, I should have known."

She looked up at him and narrowed her eyes. "Why did you come here? Can't you see that I'm fine without you?"

"Dear sweet Utethy…you poor thing. You must've been subjected to many traumas without me. Why can't you see that I am your true soul mate?" he asked in a soft voice.

"Because I _hate _you! Sala was the only one there who understood me!" She hissed

Sala stepped forward and smiled. "Miss me?"

Utethy jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly. "Absolutely."

"At least there's some good news."

Zek growled and spun her so that she was facing him. "Listen you little brat; I've given you everything a female could ever need, want and even desire on my planet. I'm going to ask you one last time: come with me, and when we get back, I'll _try_ to be gentle with your sorry hide. That means that if I'm in a good mood, you'll probably walk out of out bed without collapsing in pain."

"Uh, how about no?"

"Why…you!" He pulled out a plasma rifle and pointed it at her head. She staggered backwards but did nothing else. "Come back with me, my dear sweet Utethy, and I won't blow your pretty little face to bits."

She shrugged. "Sorry, asshead. I'm not going anywhere."

_Oh, NOW you've done it… _was all that John could think before the Elite slapped her with the gun. He rushed to her side as blood gushed out of her nose. _Ouch… _

"You alright?" he asked.

"Zek is _so _gonna get it." She grumbled. "Why me?"

"Sala." Zek grabbed the red armored Elite by the throat. "Take her to the encampment."

Sala shook his head. "I'm sorry brother," he said solemnly, "But her place is not with the Elites, the Grunts, or even the Hunters. Her place, _her entire life_, is with the humans. Her place isn't even with you. Accept it and forget her. We have better things to-"

Sala never finished his sentence, as he was shot in the head. He fell to the cold ground as Utethy screamed. She scrambled to his fading body and laid his bloody head on her lap.

"S-Sala…? Can you hear me?" She said after what seemed to be a long time.

His answer was a slight nod. Utethy removed his helmet and examined the wound. He might not live…

"…y-yes…and I'm glad…the last thing…I hear…is…you…" he smiled once more before falling into permanent unconscious. She looked stunned for a moment before a berserker rage took hold of her. Immediately she launched herself at Zek so hard that they fell out of downed Pelican.

"_WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU! HE WAS YOUR BROTHER FOR CHRIST'S SAKE, YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU I'LL KILL YOU I'LL **FUCKING KILL YOU!**"_

She threw punches at his face until blood trickled out of the corners of his eyes. Aa and Un pulled her off of him, but they, too, were beaten to a bloody pulp. She was enraged.

But she predicted that this would happen.

_Nice guys always die first…_

Finally she ran out of steam, the battered Elite shoved her off and she resumed crying.

"Wh-why…?"

Zek stood and whipped the blood from his nose. "Because he needed a place in life, Hell should suit him." Zek kicked Utethy viciously. "You've made your choice, human. You shall remain my bride, until the day you die. Stay with the human bastards, I don't care. But when you crawl right back to me…" He let the sentence hang before commanding his troops to carry Sala.

"You will die."

They left without another word. The Marines accompanied Utethy's side, checking for injuries of any sort. The Master Chief knelt by her side and picked her up, placing her bawling form on the couch. One of the soldiers patted her on the shoulder, then left, not knowing what else to say.

"Want a muffin?" was all the soldier said. She nodded; she wanted to feel comfort in the food.

He handed it to her and she gobbled it in seconds.

Utethy sat on the couch numbly. Tears stopped flowing down her face, but the memory of her best friend dead was painful. The Master Chief was trained to not be gentle, to be the best of the best. A machine. But this girl….there was something about her….

He sat next to her and pulled her close to him.

They were silent for a long time.

"I read a story in my history class back in the 21st Century…about a soldier like you." She whispered.

"Hm?" he asked.

"His name was Achilles, the greatest soldier in Greece. He was the son of a Goddess, and when he was born; his mother dipped him head first into a small river where it would make him invincible. Except when she did, she held onto his heel, and that was never touched by water.

"Achilles was a brave and strong warrior. He defeated entire armies, all by himself because of his gift. But one day…during a battle…someone shot a poison tipped arrow through his heel. It killed him slowly. I guess…in a way, you are like Achilles."

Fascinated by this story, he smiled. "I guess I am."

But just then, a soldier came into the room.

"Hey, don't mean to interrupt, but we've got some good news: Cortana's found Captain Keyes' signal on a Covenant cruiser called the…Truth and Reconciliation."

"Truth and…Reconciliation?" was all Utethy said.

"Yep. And we're going to rescue him."

"And you're coming with us." Said the Master Chief.

"Master Chief, with all do respect no civilians on the battlefield."

John stood up to his full height and look at the Marine straight in the eyes.

"This 'civilian' is special. I know it. Just…let her come with us."

"….alright. But if she dies…it's your fault."

The marine shook his head and mumbled about how "letting a thirteen year old kid will only attract more Covenant."

Utethy curiously cocked her head at John. "A-am I really coming with you?" she asked.

"Yes. And I know you'll do more good than bad."

She smiled. "I…will."

Utethy lay back on the couch and stared at the ceiling, excited, but nervous at the same time.

_This is truly the beginning of a new day…_

* * *

Well, I finally finished this chapter, after a very long hiatus. I just hope everyone will like it. 


	16. First Missions Always Suck

_There is no salvation until you find it _

* * *

**The Hanging Garden **

Yep, I'm back and with better chapters. This chapter begins the Halo story with Utethy included in it. I'm glad that so many people enjoy this story, and screw the people who don't. Yeah, yeah, I'm a procrastinator, and I hate it! God, I wish I was a better author to you people. Anyways, enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 16 : First Missions Always Suck **

Utethy felt the wind ripple through her hair as she looked down inside the flying Pelican. She clung to the safety harness with both ands and admired the land below. They were on the other side of the Ringworld, where there was nothing but darkness. Beside her was the Master Chief, and behind her were several Marines.

"The enemy has captured Captain Keyes, and is holding him aboard one of their cruisers, the Truth and Reconciliation." said Cortana, "The ship is currently holding position approximately three hundred meters above the other end of this plateau."

A Marine spoke up. "So how do we get inside the ship if it's in the air? The Corps issued me a rifle, not wings."

A Sergeant looked over at the Marine. "There's a gravity lift that ferries troops and supplies between the ship and the surface. That's our ticket in."

"I just hope I don't die…" Utethy sighed.

"You won't. If you think you will, then you will. Just think positively." John said without looking at her face.

Cortana spoke up again. "Once we get inside the ship, I should be able to lock on to the tracking signal from Captain Keyes' neural implants."

The same Sergeant gripped his rifle and stood up as soon as the Pelican hit the ground. "Hit it, marines!" He said with much gusto in his voice. "Go, go, go! The Corps ain't paying us by the hour!"

Utethy was just about to jump out when she felt the Sergeant's hands grasp her shoulder. "Nuh uh. Not you, kid. You're too young."

"But I can fight!" she protested. "I-I'm a really good fighter! I'm a black belt-"

"I don't give a shit! Stay on this Pelican and for the love of God, _go home_!" With that he ran off, but behind his back Utethy gave him the finger. The Pelican was about to dust off, but she jumped and landed perfectly in time.

Greeting her was the Sergeant. "What the fuck is wrong with you, boy! You're too young!"

_Boy? _Utethy quietly smiled, and it was left unseen in the darkness. _He thinks I'm a boy! _

She felt a rough hand slap her cheek, and the after sting. "You stupid kids are all the same; you think you're invincible!"

"But-" she began again. This time he raised his hand, but only as a bluff. He sighed and looked at her icily.

"Fine, you can come. But for God's sake don't kill yourself."

"Okay. I'll try."

"No. There is no _try _in a war. There's a try, or a don't try. Got it? Good." With that he ran off, not looking back to check if she was following.

Utethy didn't want to be alone, she ran as fast as she could to catch up with the Master Chief. When she finally did, he was hiding behind a tree, holding out his hand to prevent her from going any further.

"Stick to the higher ground. We should be able to recon the Covenant position without being spotted. I've detected Covenant stationary guns near the next pass. I recommend using your sniper rifle to take out the gunners while I call for Marine support." Cortana said. Then the AI spoke over the radio: "Get ready to move in to support us, Sergeant. The Master Chief is going to covertly take out as many of the Covenant as he can. Don't open fire until you hear the enemy return fire on us. That should let us keep the element of surprise."

Utethy wished to God above that she really _did _have a black belt in Karate. She didn't know why she was here, why her Prince allowed her to be brought to harm, and why she was feeling fear. But she sucked up a breath and followed the Marines.

She crept behind the Chief as silently as silently as she could, until she saw three Jackals, two Elites, and ten Grunts. Her heart pounded just thinking that maybe, just maybe, Zek could be one of them.

"Utethy, listen to me," the Master Chief whispered to her. "You are unarmed, and if you get hurt I'm unable to help you…"

"Why?"

He ignored her. "Stay here, and if anything comes your way besides a Marine or me, just yell as loud as you can, okay?"

She nodded.

"Alright, Chief, I think she gets the point, now do you want to save Keyes, or just stand here?" Cortana's voice was thick with impatience. Utethy understood.

John watched as the Covenant forces wandered around impatiently, his machine gun aiming for the Elite's head. Utethy treasured the final moments of silence before the Master Chief fired two rounds that instantly killed it. The other Covenant members jumped back in fright and surprise before shooting at John, who had revealed himself soon after the Elite was dead.

Utethy watched in pure awe as the Master Chief and his Marines fought with every once of strength in their bodies. She would be scared still because of these things.

The last Jackal fell to the ground in a pile of its own blood, making a Marine whoop victoriously. "Hey we did it! Right behind ya, Chief."

"Utethy! Are you still there?" John called out.

"Yes! And I'm fine."

"Come out and follow me."

She did as she was ordered to do and ran to his side. She panted and wiped sweat from her bangs. "I'm…okay…"

"Good. Come with me."

She ran after him like a gazelle, and the Marines simply looked at her with stares that said 'you don't belong here kid. Go home.' She hated those stares.

"Stop! Motion tracker shows movement around the next bend." She heard Cortana say.

"We'll be ready to advance as soon as you call for us, Cortana." A Marine said. He gave one last glare at Utethy before she gave him a small grin. In return, she got a kick in the leg and a "stupid kid" before she ran to another hiding place (Chief's orders). Again, it was mainly shooting and trying not to be shot.

_I wish they'd let me just fight. I'm really strong, but at the same time, I don't want to fight. I want to go home. John told me that I should stay here, and stay here I will! This is the safest place in the area…right? _

Wrong.

She felt an alien hand clamp over her mouth, a plasma rifle pointed at the temple of her head. Utethy tried her hardest to resist, yet all of her attempts were in vain. She was thrown on the ground silently and brutally, and the creature knelt beside her. Up close she recognized him as an Elite Spec. Op. Without even speaking a word, the Elite viciously grabbed a hold of her shirt and tore it cleanly off. Utethy knew what he wanted.

_Jesus Christ…not again! _

Utethy pressed her hands against the Elite's now bare chest and pushed with all her might. The Elite would've laugh insanely if no one was around, but instead smirked and tasted her breast with his tongue.

"HEL-mmmph!" thinking that the Elite was fully distracted she tried to scream her lungs out for help. Unbeknownst to her, he knew she was going to do this and muffled her cries with his hand.

'Erentaree was right…she was a pain.

"Now…just stay silent if you want to come out of this alive…" the Elite removed his lower portions of his jet-black armor and stared at her with eyes that said "be good and shut up" clearly.

"Who are you?"

"My name isn't important, but what is important is the fact that I will succeed where the self-styled almighty Zek 'Erentaree has failed. I will mate with you. Not because I care about you, but because Zek is taken with you. He really does love you, Balamiya Utethy." The naked Elite enfolded his legs around her body close, unbuttoning her pans and letting her get use to the feel of his fingers.

"I will finally best that worthless Sangheili at something. Does that sound good to you?" he purred to her, nuzzling her face and gently licking it. "You'll find that I, Kou 'Yatemee, will be a more… suitable mate for you."

Utethy was struck silent. All this time she thought Zek was doing it for the sex. He really loved her…really, _really_ loved her.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt a painful attempt at penetration. She writhed under him as more force was added.

…_I am a prince…_

_I am no one's little bitch…_

…_I'll show this bastard what-for! _

She smiled evilly as she flipped both herself and the Elite so she was on top. Kou seemed to be getting hornier by the minute. "Hmmm…so you'd like to try your first time on top, eh? I mind, of course, since I'm to be you mate."

"Not even in your dreams, asshole."

With that, she slammed her fist into his face, causing much blood to come out of his mouth.

"You…wretched bitch!" he muttered.

She huffed. "And don't forget it."

Suddenly, she felt something warm envelop her right hand. It was a calming heat that somehow gave off a light. Kou apparently saw it as well, for he gasped and shook with alarm and God-fearing terror.

"The Sacred Sword-! But how! It vanished into oblivion millennia ago! How can you wield the Holy Sword of Dios!" He'd never been so frightened in his life, and seeing this mere girl, who was helpless before, now overpower him with the Holy Sword.

"I don't know, but what I do know is that you can kiss your rock-hard cock and ego goodbye." She stabbed him in the chest many times. Utethy was angry at this Elite, for using her just to get Zek all riled up.

And the last thing she wanted was Zek to find her.

Finally Kou was dead, and she lay with just her bra and half her pants on her body. Sighing she gathered her clothes and put them on her body. As she was buttoning her blouse, she felt another hand grab her shoulder. But it was anything but alien.

"Boy! Where the _fuck _have you been? We've been searching for you for a long time and the Chief was getting worried-" It was the same Sergeant from before, and he looked pissed. That is, until he saw the mutilated body of Kou 'Yatemee.

He walked over and examined his chest, which had been brutally bashed in so that the Sergeant could see the bloody earth beneath the corpse.

"_Daaaaaamn!_" was all he could say.

"Tell me about it," she mumbled. "The bastard tried to rape me."

"Well, did he?"

"Almost."

The Sergeant sighed and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Well son, uh, good jo-" he stopped when she removed her hand from her shirt, it was partially buttoned, but he could see her cleavage and shook his head.

"Never mind, girl."

"Okay…" she was a bit disappointed when he brushed her off.

"Utethy!" Came a familiar voice

"John!"

She ran to him and he embraced her, then sternly said, "_Never_ wander without me, okay! I was worried that something got you!" Then calmly he said, "Oh, thank _GOD _you're okay…"

"Uh…well, are _you _okay?"

"Yes, Utethy. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." She said.

A Marine heaved a sigh and said into the intercom, "Area secure."

The Master Chief let go of her and led the team ahead, Utethy following him behind. She mimicked his movements of hiding and stealthily running. That is, until Cortana's voice split the silence.

"Covenant forces detected ahead. The path up on the left should let us sneak up around them."

John stopped and looked Utethy in the eye. "You have to-"

"Hide. I know." She finished for him. "Why can't I fight?"

"Hm, let's see. They have guns that could kill you in seconds, and you don't. Does that answer your question?" He said. "Well, does it?"

"Yes it does. But I don't see why-"

"Good stay here." John was obviously aggravated and shoved her behind a flowering shrub.

So, yet again, she had to miss out on _all _the action. Why? Because she was-

Utethy spied a small plasma pistol that was beside a dead Grunt. Carefully crawling to it and kneeling, she aimed for a nearby Elite that was blowing the heads off soldier after soldier and fired.

Despite it not killing him, she also alerted the Covenant alien to her position, in which he took no time at all to pin-point. He growled menacingly and shot three blobs of green plasma at her.

_What did I get into this time? _

She dodged the splashes of plasma shots and overcharged the gun she was holding. In a matter of seconds an overwhelming feeling of burning pain gripped her hand and she released the trigger.

It hit the Elite center in the forehead and killed him instantly.

She stood over his dead body and twirled her gun while whistling. "I guess I showed that son of a bitch who is top gun around here."

"UTETHY!"

She winced at the familiarity of the voice at the hard slap in the face she received from the Master Chief.

"Why won't you listen to me! I told you that you should hide, and you _deliberately _disobey me! _Why do_ you do this!" He shouted at her like a nervous father.

"But the first time wasn't my fault!" She protested weakly.

"The first time wasn't your fault, but this time it was! I saw what you did, and it was stupid and reckless! That Elite could've _killed _you and there would be nothing I could do! Well, Utethy? Aren't you happy you almost killed yourself trying to be a hero? Well! I'm right here waiting, you stupid girl!"

Utethy stood still for a minute before tears of harsh realization of her what-could've-been fate flashed through her mind. "I-I'm…I di-din't know what I w-was…"

"That's right, you _didn't_!" He sighed and put a hand to his visor. "Jesus Christ, kid…" he mumbled. "Just…just please. Follow me, try not to get killed and the next batch of Covenant warriors we find, you can help us kill. Will that make you happy and _stay hidden_?"

She nodded her head excitedly. "Uh huh! Uh huh! Can I keep this little pistol?"

"Yes."

"Wheee!" She jumped in the air. "I promise I won't let you down, John. I promise! I'll be the best-"

"I bet you will, Utethy, now go see if the Covenant soldiers are around that bend over there, okay?" He patted her on the back and then gave her a gentle push. She happily skipped along the path, but quietly signaling to them that there was Covenant.

"I hope you know why you're doing this, Chief." The Sergeant said.

John sighed again. "Me too…"

* * *

OKAY! That's IT! No more month long waits for you people! I'm tired of procrastinating and being lazy! Starting after this chapter, I swear that updates will be sooner. Just…let me not make any promises, okay? But I SWEAR! 


	17. Testing Strength

1_If anything, trust your instincts _

* * *

**The Hanging Garden**

Guess who? Well, I'm back and with more new, uh, things to write about. I'm really glad that people like the story, yet Utethy isn't the happiest clam after she's been molested by some chauvinistic male creep for the HUNDREDTH TIME! Gahd! All she wants is to help the Master Chief. And don't be alarmed if the Prophet of Truth wants a piece of her SEXY ASS!! ahem Sorry .

And I also apologize to my fans (if they're still out there) for the INCREDIBLY STUPIDLY LONG-ASS hiatus that I took. It's not all easy doing this, but I'm going to finish this, whether I (or you) like it or not! E-mail me for some juicy secrets to come! .!

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**Chapter 17 :: Testing Strength **

"We're directly under the ship now."

Utethy looked up and gawked at the amazing sight above her. It was a purple teardrop that shone with a magenta hue.

"Woah..." was all she could say.

"Yeah, it's pretty amazing, isn't it?" John said, smiling slightly under his helmet. "This is Covenant technology at it's very best."

A Marine stared at it for the longest time, then said, "If we're gonna board that thing, we need a plan."

"I'm betting Cortana already has one," Utethy smirked.

"Thank you, Utethy. The Covenant use a gravity lift to move troops and supplies between the ship and the surface." Cortana said. "We need to ambush them at the grav lift's loading zone, and use the lift to enter the ship."

"Okay, that sounds easy."

"Easier said than done. Check out all those Covie bastards."

Utethy's eyebrows raised in surprise as she saw alien warriors in every crevice and cranny of the landscape. Okay...so it's not gonna be a piece of cake.

The Master Chief sighed and headed towards the unsuspecting group of Grunts that were idly poking a dead corpse with sticks. He aimed, fired, and two fell to his bullets. The surviving cowards fled screaming and waving their arms furiously to alert the troops.

Utethy laughed and smiled to herself, giving the impression to John that she wasn't afraid to be in the middle of battle. But inside she was a nervous wreck. Great. Here she was in the middle of a war, with no weapons but immense sarcasm at her disposal.

Fucking great.

"You know how to use one of these?"

Utethy turned to see John holding out a rifle. "Uh...not really," she said honestly

"Good. You're not supposed to. But I'll teach you." He placed the gun in the palm of Utethy's right hand. "First, aim. Second-"

"Fire?" she said.

"Well, yeah."

"Okay...lemme try." Utethy held out the gun and cocked it. She closed one eye and aimed for a Grunt that was in such panic that she was frozen to the spot. Getting rid of all thoughts of Ai, Yuu and Kei, she fired and almost laughed out loud as she watched the Grunt do a back flip and die.

John was beside himself with pride, but as a soldier, he hid it very well. "Good. Try again. This time, aim for the Elite."

"I don't mean to interrupt this little firearm lesson, but we have a Covenant cruiser to board." Cortana said impatiently.

"Do you want her to die?"

"No."

"Then shut up and let her work. She's doing good."

She sighed in defeat. "Fine. But make it quick. Keyes is in danger."

Utethy was feeling pressured at this point, hearing Cortana ramble about some Keyes guy in danger, but the quick lesson she was receiving will probably help her. Probably.

Utethy aimed for a blue Elite shouting at Jackals and Grunts in his native tongue. Weeks with Zek and Sala and listening to their constant arguing helped her understand what this Elite as saying.

Shaking her head she pulled the trigger and watched again as several Covenant aliens panicked and screamed in horror.

"Okay!" She heard Cortana say. "She did it. Let's go. Time's a-wasting!"

"Alright, Cortana, alright." Utethy laughed and brushed a stray hair out of her face. She was about to walk away when the Master Chief grabbed her shoulder.

"Wait! What did you say?!"

"The uh...'alright Cortana, alright'?" she stuttered.

"Yes! How'd you hear that?"

"I just...did." She shrugged and started aiming her gun again at the nearest Elite. He was standing over his comrade's corpse and murmured words of frustration to his team.

"Cortana, say something."

"Like what?"

"I don't know...anything!" The Master Chief wanted to know if Utethy could really hear Cortana. No one else could, and this was an amazing feat for a human.

"Okay, um...'chewing gum is so gross, chewing gum I hate the most.' Is that good?" she said, voice dripping with sarcasm and impatience.

"Utethy! Did you get all that?"

"What?" she turned and looked at him. "Oh, yeah. She said something about chewing gum being gross and hating it. Heh, watch this."

She cocked her head and smirked playfully. She aimed for the Elite's crotch and fired two bullets. It caused him to double over in pain and a small high shriek escaped the creature. He fell to his knees and vomited. Two more shots to the head killed him instantly.

"Okay. You lost your gun privileges." Master Chief swiped the gun from Utethy's hand.

"_Awwwwww!_" She pouted while crossing her arms. "I was doing good, too!"

Her sulking stopped immediately as he grabbed her hand and yanked her away from oncoming plasma shots being fired at her. John pushed her behind a rock and thrust the gun into her hand.

She heard shots as she tried to piece together what happened and stood up. Before she even had the chance she was, yet again, whisked away by the Master Chief.

Running, shooting, trying not to get killed. Wheee...

They stopped against the canyon wall, the Master Chief peaking around the corner with the gun clutched tightly. Utethy panted heavily and wiped sweat from her brow.

"Contact! Enemy in sight!" A Marine shouted over the radio

She saw purple plasma being shot out of an easily recognizable stationary cannon.

"Shit! Get down!" Chief grabbed her head and shoved it to the ground and rushed out to "greet" the enemy, only to get hit and recoiled.

"Crap! Those stationary guns are tearing us to pieces!"

"No shit..." Utethy mumbled under her breath. The Chief returned to her side and panted. "Not so tough are ya, Chief?"

"Be quiet," he growled.

Secretly hurt by this comment, she shrugged her shoulders and followed John into the battlefield. Clutching her tiny pistol, she had a bad feeling that John wasn't expecting her to live long, giving her a good reason to bitch about carrying around some shitty gun that couldn't even kill a damn Grunt. Maybe if she asked nicely, she could upgrade to a plasma pistol. Hey, we gotta start small.

"Hey, Chief!. Uh, can I get one of those plasma guns if I kill more than three Grunts?"

"No. Those guns are too dangerous."

"How about twelve Jackals?"

"Still no."

"Seventeen Elites!"

"I'll think about it."

Utethy screamed. "No, you dunce! Seventeen Elites are heading this way! Along with twelve Jackals and...three Grunts? Damn..." She scratched her head at the very odd coincidence. "What are the odds of this, Chief?"

With no time to talk, he aimed an fired at the oncoming troops. Again rushing into the battle, he left Utethy unintentionally stranded. Yet again.

_Great. What am I to do now? Sit here and stare at these frickin' rocks? He NEVER gives me a damn chance! _

She stared at the oddly shaped stones for a minute, all thoughts of the battle going on in front of her draining from her mind. Anger built inside her for a long time.

_GODDAMN IT ALL!! _

With immense fury she kicked one of the rocks over by the battle. Only to see it explode as it hit the nearest Elite in the face, blowing his head up.

Jaws dropped and the Master Chief turned to see Utethy with eyes wide and mouth agape. "Uhm..." she gave an anxious smile and shrugged. "Oops?"

"That girl's got a lot of hutzpa." Cortana mumbled, almost in awe of her ignorance and boldness.

"We will have talk about this later!" He yelled out. "And for the love of God, DON'T-KICK-THE-_GRENADES_!!"

"I didn't know!"

Not one to roll his eyes, the Master Chief found himself doing just that. This girl was either going to get killed by the Covenant, or by him.

Utethy noticed as the bloody combat continued from her safe distance that John was being overwhelmed. No Marines were in sight (mainly because they were killed) and she had to think of something.

Then it hit her.

"_Stekcubmucs yeh!" _

The Elites surrounding the area turned to her in shock. How did this human know their language?

Pleased with herself, she continued.

"_Em draeh ouy, heay! Ereh revo!" _

"What the hell is she doing?" The Master Chief wondered aloud.

"She's speaking the native tounge of the Elites." Cortana said in wonder. "How can she-oh, yeah. I forgot. She spent time with Elites, remember? When she was a captive?"

"Yes, I remember."

"I think she's also giving you some time to kick their ass. Better go for it." he heard a smirk in her voice.

"I really hope she knows what she's doing," he sighed. Would he become a babysitter for this kid?

Waving her arms furious and doing a small jig to get their attention, She screamed out in their native tounge.

"Eyes on me!!"

She jumped slightly from surprise as several grenades hit the troops, and in a matter of moments, the Covenant warriors were dead or crippled. John huffed and slung the gun over his shoulder, stomping over to Utethy, the little brat smiling proudly with her hands on her hips.

"Well? What do you think?" she grinned.

"_This_ is what I think," he growled as she put the girl into a choke hold, threatening to break her neck. She yelped as she clawed at his arm, and was terrified that he might kill her.

"Are you _this_ fucking stupid?!" he yelled. "You can't even imagine what would happen to you if they fried and-"

"Please, please, let me go!"

"NO! You disobeyed me for the last time, you are to stay hidden at all times, do you understand?!"

"YES! YES YES!!" Utethy was losing air and she needed to be free.

"Alright," the Chief said in a calmer tone as he let her go. She collapsed to the ground in a heap and struggled to take in air, massaging her raw neck. "But don't let me catch you doing something crazy like that, alright?"

"Mmm-hmmm," was all she could manage. "I...I won't, Chief."

He nodded and walked towards the Covenant ship, still sour from his lecture. Utethy rose from the ground and picked up her dinky gun, somehow no longer disgusted with the size, but pleased with it. It may've been small, but it was probably very powerful. Yeah, big things come in small packages.

_Just like me_, she thought. _I'm going to make John proud. He'll be so happy when he sees what I can do. I maybe a kid, but I'm...I'm...someone special._

Jogging to catch up, she walked to John's side and gave him a small smile. She didn't feel warmth from his direction, so she though she should apologize for her stupid actions.

"Listen, um...I know what I did was dumb, and you have every right to be pissed but...but I know I can be as good as you-"

She was stopped by a strong hand covering her mouth. Utethy could feel a glare from him, and was scared into silence.

"No, Utethy..." he began. "You cannot be like me. I'm a fighting machine, _literally_, and this is my job. I kill for the sake of humanity's safety. You kill because you want to be worthy in my eyes." he sighed deeply. He never felt so human, so venerable as he was with her.

"This is my entire life, I've never known anything else. You need to know that...that you have something I lost a long time ago..."

_Innocence _

"So don't you go and waste your time trying to make me happy, or pleased, or even satisfied. I don't know feelings like those."

_Just please leave me _

"You are special. There's something about you I can't shake off. It's something...new."

He stopped and looked into her eyes. They were different than the ones he'd seen on other humans. They held a secret no one was to know, and John was determined to figure out what set her apart from others.

Utethy perked up and turned to the glowing shaft of light, and saw two large bulky figures. Two _ominous_ looking figures. As soon as they touched the ground they charged towards them. Seeing them clearly, Utethy knew what they were.

_Lekgolo! _Her mind screamed. _And they look angry! _

"John!" She shrieked. "We need to go!"

He whipped around and saw the Hunters, and immediately he was in action. They were twice his size, but he faced them before.

"Stay-here." he mumbled, and he was off.

"But-!"

"NO!" he called over his shoulder and fired. She couldn't let him kill himself. Her caring for him was strong, and she needed John more than ever. Utethy could see he was struggling, two Hunters at the same time was a beating.

Clenching the gun in her hand, she made yet another stupid choice. She shot the Hunters.

The bullets hit one in the chest, denting the metal and pissing off the Lekgolo. He turned and glared at her, as did his mate. Both of them were angry, and weren't about to let some human kill them off.

The Chief was this and almost shot himself in the head._ Jesus, Not again..._

In a fit of rage the Hunter she shot raised his shielded arm and backhanded John, sending him flying to a near boulder, knocking him unconscious. His last thoughts were of Utethy's safety.

Utethy's eyes widened as she saw him, laying face down and almost dead. She felt something inside of her, something that ripped open the very fabric of time and space. It was a feeling she felt with that punk Elite that tried to rape her not too long ago. Something that...send her over the edge.

She moaned with overwhelming pain in her heart and slumped to her knees. Utethy ran her hands through her hair and began to cry. She breathed heavily, her heart raced.

The Hunters were moving in for the kill, and charged up their plasma canons. They were ready to spill more blood for the Covenant. They fired their guns and smirked.

Utethy's hand shot out like lightening and blocked the two green plasma bolts with ease. Standing up, facing her shocked attackers, the feeling swept over her completely. Her eyes glowed with a possessed light, and her right hand shone. Opening her palm, the light silhouette of the Sword of Dios appeared, and she charged.

Scared and confused, the Hunters blasted their canons in random directions, each time missing the girl.

Utethy grabbed the Hunter that sent John into unconsciousness by the neck and plunged the sword into its abdomen. She left the sword lingering in him for a while, then pulled it out with force, spraying orange blood onto his mate.

Furious and angry, the Hunter mate roared with sorrow at the death of his lover. Utethy didn't spare this one, as she slit its throat and kicked it away.

The Hunters were dead, John was safe. She was happy.

Her body began to glow a heavenly light and her Rose Signet sparkled. A soft breath escaped her, and a feeling of joy came to her. Joy and grief and regret. Her thoughts were not her own, but someone else's.

_What have I done? Why didn't I stay with them? Because of my ignorance and stupidity, this senseless war broke out. Why... why didn't I see this coming? Has the galaxy gone to Hell while I was asleep? _

Tears began to stream out of her eyes.

_In the name of all things sacred...I'm the one to blame for this slaughter of the humans. The poor creatures, my poor children. They deserve so much better than my folly and neglect. I promise I'll protect them...I promise... _

John awoke with a groan and a curse. He rubbed his helmet and tried to piece together what happened. Hunters...Utethy...him being knocked unconscious...Utethy...

UTETHY!

"Where is she? Oh my god, she's probably dead...oh my god what have I done?" he berated himself as he pounded on the ground. The poor girl died alone...

"Chief..." Cortana's voice was soft, awestruck, and amazed. "Look."

He turned, expecting the worst, and was surprised by the sight of Utethy, standing unharmed. She was glowing so brightly that behind his helmet visor he was squinting. Her hair and clothing waved as if blown by a soft wind, her eyes pouring over with tears.

She never looked more angelic...

"Utethy..." he whispered. "Jesus Christ...what happened to you?" he wasn't expecting an answer, and didn't get one.

Running to her side, John grabbed her shoulder and shook the girl. The light stopped emitting from her, and her ring stopped twinkling. The sword disappeared in a blink of light. Utethy came to her senses, and shook her head.

"What? What happened?! Where are the Hunters?" was all she said. Turning to John, she gasped. "Chief?...you're okay!" Utethy hugged him. "I thought you were dead...or something."

"Utethy..." he pushed her away and looked at her hard. "What happened to you? You were...well, glowing. And you looked like you were in pain."

Utethy blinked at him and cocked her head. What was he talking about? Glowing? In pain? Was he high?

"Chief...I don't know what you're talking about. All I remember was feeling sick and falling to the ground after you fell unconscious. That's it. I don't remember-HOLY SHIT!!"

She gasped and pointed to the dead Hunters with a mixture of horror and disgust. "What happened to them? Did you-"

"No."

"_Weird._"

Silence for a few moments. Utethy stared at the dead Lekgolo for a few moments, trying to piece together what happened. She couldn't. John was equally confused, and sighed. Having her with him was going to be tough.

"Cortana to Echo419. We have reached the gravity lift and are ready for reinforcements."

Then came Foe Hammer's eager reply.

"Copy that, Cortana. Hang tight, gentlemen. Foe Hammer out."

"We're going inside the ship, right?" Utethy glanced at the Truth and Reconciliation. She'd met a few friendly and not so friendly Hunters while she was a captive, but those were some badass aliens.

"Yes, we are. And you better watch your back or you'll get killed, then we're going to have to explain why there's a dead adolescent body amongst Marines and Covenant." Cortana sounded like she was scolding the girl. Then, to the Chief, "Once we're inside the ship, I can hone in on the Captain's command-neutral interface. He'll probably be in, or near, the ship's brig, which should narrow our search."

The sound of a human dropship came only minutes later.

"Echo419 inbound. Clear the drop zone!"

Utethy smiled as she saw fourteen soldiers pile out of the ship, ready to fight. They ran to the gravity lift and piled on. The Master Chief and Utethy followed, but as she came closer to the lift, she felt nervous. If the Hunters were hungry for blood, then what other kind of sick creatures were lurking on this ship? She could tell them in their native tongue about her experiences with and Elite by the name of Zek 'Erentaree, but they'd think she knew their secrets, and shoot her dead.

Sensing her anxiety, he held out his hand in a friendly gesture of _It's okay, I won't let them hurt you._

Master Chief could've said that, but in jest he said, "Ladies first."

Smiling and took his hand and hopped aboard the lift. While the rest of the team was excited, their facial expressions soured when they saw the pink-and-purple haired girl with big eyes. What's a kid doing here?

They didn't have time to voice their complaints, as they were lifted into the ship one by one. The Marines hollered and whooped in delight, but Utethy felt sick to her stomach and nervous as hell.

At the slight tug of hovering, she gasped and grabbed onto John. He didn't mind her clutching on him, it actually made him feel needed for something greater than himself.

Now he wasn't just protecting Earth...he was protecting this little girl who somehow got mixed up in all of this.

* * *

_And there we go! Enjoy while I get started on the next chapter. I'm a lazy SOB, I know... _


	18. The Belly of the Beast

_This is only the beginning of your adventures_

* * *

**The Hanging Garden **

Wow. I really suck. You poor fans are desperate for updates, and all I'm giving you is time to wait. I'm fucking amazing. I'm doing pretty good for a slacker, actually. Halo 3 is on the way, whooo!

And there is Sangheili speak in this chapter. Remember: Elites speak backwards, so all you need to do is translated it fowards.

Oh! And the Marines here are Gordon, Sanderson, Jacobson and Knowles

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**Chapter 18 :: The Belly of the Beast **

Utethy's eyes were closed, she was still clutching the Master Chief like she was the very life she had. The feeling of weightlessness made her both excited and nervous. She saw a small flash of light, and she was back on solid ground.

"We're in. I've got a good lock on the Captain CNI transponder. No Covenant defenses detected."

She snapped her eyes open and looked around the strange place. Letting go of John, the young girl looked with eyes wide open. Purple, magenta and lavender hues surrounded them.

"What's a kid doing here, Chief?"

She looked behind her to see the Marines staring at her questionably. They all had looks of disdain on their faces, which upset and embarrassed her at the same time. Looking away at an interesting piece of artillery, she tried to ignore the conversation.

"Yeah, what's she doing here?"

"I knew you were a freak, but a pedophile? That's new."

"Hey!" She whipped around, ready to smack that Marine who said that. "You better watch your scummy mouth. He's better than you in every way possi-"

"He may be good in war, but he's as inhuman as a machine." A Marine by the name of George Sanderson glared at the Master Chief hatefully. "He makes us _normal _people look bad. Hell, the Spartans were a mistake to begin with."

"What's this talk about Spartans, anyway. Sure he was some cybernetic implants, but that doesn't make him less human."

"_Some _cybernetic implants?! More like-"

"Enough!" The Master Chief threw his arm towards George in a sign to silence him. "We shouldn't be arguing over this, the Covenant are on this ship, and you two screaming isn't helping."

"Wait, Cortana said that no enemy was detected. Maybe nobody's home."

"I doubt it," Utethy muttered under her breath. She examined a plasma rifle that was resting on an odd shaped crate and gently cradled it.

"Don't touch."

She looked over her shoulder to see John hovering over her, making sure she didn't get injured. Utethy smirked and put the gun down, then moved to another weapon.

"Touch."

"Don't touch."

She mentally giggled and began to walk all over the room poking at items with her index finger.

"Touch"

"Don't _touch_!"

"Touch..."

"DO I HAVE TO FOLLOW YOU AROUND EVERYWHERE?!"

She finally laughed out loud, and fell to the ground in hysterics. The Marines sighed, holding back their own laughter. It was too funny; the legendary Master Chief reduced to a babysitter.

Utethy wiped tears from her eyes and looked up to see John looking at her with a scolding glare. As she moved to get up, she noticed a somewhat translucent form of an Elite creep behind the troops. Her blood ran cold and she became deathly silent.

"Yo kid, what's wrong?"

She didn't speak, too terrified to even whimper. They were so oblivious to their surroundings they couldn't even-

"LOOK OUT!!"

The invisible Elite ignited a plasma sword and it came crashing down on George. He fell to the ground dead. The doors on either side of the walls opened up and the room was flooded with Covenant. Plasma and bullets were thrown in the air.

"'No Covenant!' You just _had _to open your big mouth!"

"Well, sorry!"

Utethy scrambled to get up, dodging oncoming fire from both sides to grab the abandoned plasma rifle that lay on the crate. If she could just reach over discretely...

A large blue hoof stomped forcefully between her and the crate. She looked up to see a minor Elite growling fiercely at her. She gulped nervously and sweat started to pour down her brow.

It grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and threw her across the room. Well, so much for grabbing the gun discretely. The minor Elite took aim and fired, but she rolled over so the plasma burned the deck. The only thing on her mind now was to get the fuck out of here safely.

"Chief! HELP!!"

She hated crying out for help. She hated being portrayed as a princess. What good can a prince do when she's crying for John's rescue every time she's in a rut she can't dig herself out of?

The Master Chief killed the Elite without a second thought, thankful to get that bastard away from Utethy. The poor girl was scared shitless.

"Thanks," was her mumbled reply.

Standing up and reaching over for the gun, she was now prepared for anything. Even for pricks like those Elites.

"Are secure, Sir. We better keep moving."

Utethy pointed to a blue splattered door. "How about that door? Looks safe enough."

"Yeah. Then tons of Covenant will come flooding through." Gordon rolled his eyes.

"We don't know until we try." John made his way to the door and it opened. Nothing came through. Utethy shrugged and followed him, gripping her gun. Sure, the Truth and Reconciliation was pretty and all, but so do rainbows with daggers raining from the colors.

After walking through what seemed to be a hundred hallways, they came to a massive blast door. Utethy knocked on it with the butt of the plasma rifle. Nothing. She shot at it. Nothing.

"The door's locked, dipshit. I can't bypass it. We can't get in through here." Knowles hit her with the butt of his shotgun none too gently. She rubbed the sore spot and glared at him.

"To put it nicely, we can't get through the door." At least Cortana was kinder with her words than that Marine. "We can use the side passages to find a way around"

Utethy frowned at the though. "We'll be sitting ducks, Cortana!"

Jacobson stepped foward. "We'll hold this position until you can find a way from the other side, Chief." Then, snarling at Utethy. "You better stay with us, kid. You're nothing but trouble."

"Watch it." She growled.

To prevent another vocal fight and alerting enemy troops, he patted Utethy on the shoulder as a sign that she could come with him "No, she's coming with me."

"Alright then, Chief. Let's see if we can find a way to open this door." There was a smile in Cortana's voice.

The pink-and-purple haired girl smiled and followed the Spartan. At least she was doing something worthwhile besides staying in her own time.

But something was on her mind.

"Chief? When that Marine said that you were a freak, I knew he meant by the enhancements and such...but he hinted that you were something else." Utethy's brow furrowed as she toyed with the alien rifle in her hand. "Chief, what are these SPARTANS I keep hearing about? Who are they?"

John stopped and sighed. Well, she deserved an explanation. The girl had ben without one for so long.

"Utethy...SPARTANS were, and still are, supersoldiers." He looked at her sharply, expecting more questions. But instead she stayed silent, eager to ear more. "When I was seven years old, I was kidnaped and trained to-"

"JESUS! "

He barely even noticed the plasma grenade land not two inches beside his foot. Gasping and not thinking straight, Utethy kicked the grenade away down the hall and watched it explode. She breathed a dramatic sigh of relief before John grabbed her arm.

"Can you _please _stop endangering yourself?!"

"I saved your life!" She retorted.

"You could've killed yourself!!"

"_You_ would've been dead! I saved your metal ass!"

"Watch your mouth, Balamiya." He growled as she glared at him.

Cortana had enough. "No time for arguing! Covenant troops are coming this way!"

"Crap, we're in trouble." Utethy's mouth dropped as several Grunts and Elites made their way towards them. She felt the Master Chief's strong hand push her into a corner, and the girl pushed back.

"I can fight, Chief. Please..."

"No."

Not wanting to start a fight and being the one responsible for Master Chief's anti-climactic demise (him screaming at a thirteen year old girl while a plasma grenade landed on his head and blew him to pieces), she narrowed her eyes and nodded. So much for being a Prince.

Blue blood stained the walls and corpses littered the hallways. Deja vu took over as he grabbed her wrist and yanked her out of the hiding place. Utethy was getting aggravated with the continuous "hide-and-stay-safe" routine that the Chief forced her to go through. She wanted to fight, she know she could win.

Little did Utethy know, she was stronger than she or anyone could ever dream of.

"Wait. There's a locked door over there, to the left. The Marines are waiting for us on the other side. The controls to open it should be-"

"Here!" Utethy proudly showed a consol with many lights and strange knobs. "Is this what you mean, Cortana?"

"Yes."

John stepped foward and stared at the alien controls. He knew how to do it, but Utethy didn't. Feeling the sense to teach the young girl, he began to point to different buttons. "Alright, Utethy, this is your first lesson on Covenant ships. See these? The ones to the left in the green are the ones to open some doors in the carrier. The ones above those are to close doors and unlock certain areas in the ship."

Utethy stared at him. "John, I appreciate the lesson, but I already know how to work Covenant ship controls." She said bluntly. "I was a Sangheili's wife, remember?"

"Yeah, Chief, remember?" Cortana crowed. "I thought the incredible Mater Chief remembered everything."

"Be quiet," he growled.

"Okay, back on track. The button over here should...open this door!"

And it did. The remaining Marines piled through the door clutching their weapons, the look of absolute boredom on their faces.

"We should get moving, Chief. The boys are restless." Cortana said.

"Alright!" Utethy raised her left hand to attract the Marines' attention. "Everybody stay cool, and yell if you see anything."

"Ma'am yes Ma'am!!" Jacobson couldn't help the sarcastic remark and the other soldiers couldn't help but laugh out loud. Really, a little kid telling them what to do? It was too funny.

Utethy got the joke, and felt like an idiot. She knew it was stupid to try and be high and give herself the power to command troops. Trying to laugh along with them won't help none, and it was against her morality to accept insults, no matter how subtle.

"We should move," The Master Chief jerked his head in the opposite direction and walked ahead. Utethy followed behind him until she felt a hand stop her.

"Oh, no no no no! You're staying right here." Jacobson snarled. "You shouldn't even be here! You distract us men on the front lines."

"Tell that to me when I kick your ass," She slapped his hand away and ran to catch up with the Master Chief.

Mumbling, the Marines followed.

All the while Utethy felt nervous. She didn't know why, but she brushed it off as being afraid of some crazy mofo alien popping out of nowhere and coming after them with a plasma sword.

_Heh, that would be hysterical! _She thought. _Sort of... _

The group entered a large hangar, mostly empty aside from the few Grunts that attempted to shoot their feet off. In return, the Chief shot their faces off.

"We need back up, Cortana!" A younger looking Marine, Jacobson said nervously. "And lots of it!"

"Will do." Her voice became static as she talked through the radio to Foehammer. "_Cortana to Echo419! __Requesting reinforcements at our position." _

"_Foehammer here, Cortana... I read you, but you're INSIDE the Covenant ship! I'm not sure I can-"_

Cortana was in no mood. They needed reinforcements and they needed them _now. _

"_Lock onto my signal and approach fast and low. There's a shuttle bay on the ship's starboard side." _

Foehammer surrendered to Cortana, and agreed. Utethy could here the older woman sigh with defeat.

"_Roger, Cortana-Echo419 on the approach." _

"So...when will she get here?" Utethy asked John.

"When she gets here," he responded.

"Well, what happens if a ton of Covenant troops come crashing out of nowhere?"

"Then we'll have to fight,"

"Oh, like...NOW?!"

Utethy ducked out of the way of an oncoming plasma grenade and (grudgingly) hid under a ship. She folded her arms under her shin she watched as the big guys took out several Covenant soldiers. Utethy then noticed a pile of plasma grenades right by her, and an idea popped into her head. A really, really bad idea.

_This is REALLY gonna suck..._she narrowed her eyes and smirked at an Elite_ ...for you that is. _

Without any warning whatsoever, she tossed the grenade at the Elite's head. It stuck, and its head exploded. Utethy gave a triumphant whoop before scrambling out of the underside of the ship, dancing and singing to herself in joy.

"Let's get out of here! Human crazy!" One of the Grunts yelped and waddled away, but was shot in the head at point-blank-range.

John sighed heavily. _Not again...this girl won't stop. _

Utethy stopped dancing when she felt a hand on her shoulder and cautiously turned around. The realization of what she had done smacked her in the face - literally.

She clutched her red cheek and rubbed it furiously, blinking back tears of pain. The Master Chief pointed to the ground.

"Sit,"

"What was that-"

"Sit. _Now._"

_Yeah, this is really gonna suck. _

Wincing the thirteen year old kneeled in front of the supersoldier, feeling ashamed and embarrassed.

"What was that?"

"Y-you mean...when I threw the grenade?"

"Yes."

"Um..." there really was no excuse for what she did. Utethy just wanted to kill the Elite to see what would happen. "I was afraid that the Sangheili would hurt you, that's all."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah..."

A silence for about three minutes.

"You're a terrible liar." the Master Chief muttered. "You're going to tell me, right now, why you purposely endangered everyone's lives, even yours."

Guess there was no way around it.

"I just wanted to kill the Sangheili. I'm just afraid-"

"_WHAT?!" _Cortana's shriek of horror and disgust echoed throughout the hangar. It was pretty obvious that the AI didn't want Utethy to turn into a bloodthirsty sadist. Utethy cringed and knew she was getting the sharp end of her sword.

"Listen to me, Utethy!" Cortana snapped harshly. "War isn' a game, at all! You don't go around throwing grenades at Covenant because you want to kill, but to protect! The last thing you should be doing is acting high and mighty thinking that nothing is going to happen, but it will! If you keep up your charade, one day you will be dead. And we can do nothing about it-"

"_SHUT UP!!" _

Utethy's voice cracked from emotion. "Do you have any idea what I've gone through, Cortana, do you? Do you know how it feels like to be worthless? To be a nobody? _Do you know how it feels to be an orphan?!" _

"Utethy...calm down, please."

"No...no I won't. My parents died in a car accident, and I was put into foster home after foster home. Nobody wanted me...I was a burden. My current foster parents were abusive and I had to do the chores for them. I was popular at my school, but no one wanted to be my friend. I was adored, but never befriended." Utethy sighed. "You're always adored, always befriended."

"Not," Cortana growled.

"But I just want to be worthy. I want to be helpful anyway I can. Just give me chance, and I'll prove to you I'm an amazing fighter. I know the Sangheili language. I know the customs, the culture, the rites. I even know about Halo. I'm an informant...give me a chance."

The Master Chief thought for a long time...he knew there was something about this girl that made her stand out. Who knew it was because she was an orphan? Well, that solves the mystery.

_I know I'm going to regret this. _The Master Chief handed Utethy a rifle and he nodded. She wouldn't hide anymore; she will fight. Utethy couldn't help but skip ahead with joy, clutching her new weapon like it was a priceless gem.

"I hope you know what you got her into." Cortana said numbly. "If she gets killed you know you won't forgive yourself."

"I'm giving her a chance. Let's go"

Gordon ran ahead and examined the doors. "Hey, where do we go now? All the doors on this level are locked!"

Utethy, on the other hand, had a brighter idea. She ran to the door and kicked it smartly with an "open up you dumb bastard!" to accent it.

"Maybe 'Open Sesame' will work." Gordon, said.

"Don't be a smartass. Cortana? Any ideas?"

"Wait a moment...I'm going to access the Covenant's battlenet and locate an override code to open the door."

"I'd hurry up if I were you." Utethy grimaced at the sight behind the group of Marines.

"Why?"

"Because we're being targeted by Elites!" The girl yelled for them to duck as several invisible Elites swung their plasma swords. John was already on top of the situation, as he shot them twenty-something times, causing them to loose their invisibility.

Roaring with frustration, the Sangheili whipped out two plasma rifled and fired madly. The Master Chief ducked and kicked the nearest Covenant in the shin and fired as it hit the ground.

They were all being overwhelmed by the oncoming onslaught. And to add insult to injury, two Lekgolo stomped out of the shadows, their plasma cannons charging and ready.

_Oh, fuck me. _

"CORTANA FOR THE LOVE OF GOD HURRY THE FUCK UP!!" Ducking and running, Utethy shot the massive creatures in the armored chest. Nothing happened.

"Working on it!" Cortana yelled, then, mumbling almost incoherently. "I'd like to see _you_ crack a 128,000 bit modulating encryption key."

She purposely tripped herself in order to dodge an oncoming plasma blast, unwittingly cutting her head open on the hard concrete-like floor. Utethy moaned with pain as blood seeped through her short pink-and-purple hair. A Sangheili Major grabbed her by the throat, lifting her off the ground so that she was at eye level with him and growled. It cocked its rifle at her temple. She though this would be a very good time to practice her Elite tongue.

"_Toosh t'ond esaelp_. _Derujni dna demranu m'i." _

The Elite stopped dead in its tracks. This girl knew his language! But how? No human was able to successfully speak the native tongue of the Sangheili.

"_Uoy era ohw?" _

"_Edirb eht." _

Utethy pleaded with the Elite through her eyes. She didn't want to die and her heart was racing with fear. This Elite could easily blow her head off and wave her headless corpse for Humanity to see.

But to her shock, she felt her tiptoes touch the floor and was pushed to the ground. Before Utethy could thank the Elite, its chest was blown apart by a plasma grenade. She gasped aspurple-blue blood splashed onto her and watched with horror as the Elite that had spared her life collapse in a blood heap.

Utethy looked up from the ground, uniform stained with Sangheili blood, her hair and face coated with her blood, a look of horror on her face.

The remaining Covenant were dead around her, the Marines and the Master Chief triumphant.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

A marine looked at her. "What?"

"S-someone killed that Sangheili, after he spared my life! He didn't deserve to die!" Utethy screamed, hoarseness creeping into her voice. "He couldn't shot me, but he didn't! Why did you kill him?! WHY?!"

The Master Chief took it upon himself to calm her down. He walked up to her and knelt so that only she could here him "Utethy, you could've been killed by the Elite. It had a gun to your head and I felt scared for you. When it pushed you to the ground I thought it was going to shoot you then and there."

"But he wasn't going to."

"How do you know?

Utethy was silent. She knew because the Elite looked at her like he felt pity for her. In a somewhat awestruck respect he didn't kill her because she had knowledge of Sangheili culture and language. But she knew that if she told them, they'd call her crazy. So she kept her mouth shut.

"We should keep moving. If we wait any longer this place will be swarming with Covenant." Cortana piped up.

"Oh? And it already isn't?" Utethy allowed a smirk to grace her lips before throwing a shotgun over her shoulder, with a plasma rifle at her side.

"She is one bratty bitch," Knowles, and older Marine, whispered to his comrade as soon as Utethy was out of hearing reach.

"Shut it," Cortana grumbled. Utethy didn't deserve to have someone talk about her that way.

Utethy waited for them at the entrance of the door, the gun behind her head and a look of forced calmness around her face. She followed the Master Chief by his side until they got to the bridge. It was quiet, but not quiet enough.

"This looks like the ship's command center. The Captain's transponder signal is strong, we must be getting close." Cortana analyzed the spot before growing dangerously quiet; something was up.

"Anything Cortana?" she whispered.

"Hmm...yes."

"Where is it?" Master Chief gripped his gun tighter.

"Over there!"

An Elite Commander whipped out a plasma sword, Jackals, Grunts and Major Elites followed.

"Ohhhh...fuck." Jackson shook his head and emptied boxes of bullets at the nearest Grunts, who fell like flies.

Utethy jumped out of the way and rolled to her side, firing her shotgun at the nearest Covenant alien, but failing to hit her target as the goddamn things are fast.

Getting up and running like she was on fire, Utethy hit a Jackal with the butt of her plasma rifle and kicked it in the head. Not bad for a girl who lied about knowing karate.

The Master Chief was fighting off the Commander Elite. He was tough as nails and didn't fall fast. If anything, Orna 'Fulsamee (that was the Commander Elite's name, of course) was an fierce foe. Worthy of the title of Commander of the Truth and Reconciliation.

Orna pushed the Master Chief up against the wall and began to clawed at the SPARTANS with incredible force, yet only succeeded in pushing him against the wall even further, almost crushing the human cyborg.

John struggled to hold on; Utethy needed him. She was just a little girl who didn't know her way around the world. If she died, then she would soon after. No one would take care of her and they'd possible leave her for dead.

"Chief! Chief, hang on. Push it away, for Christ's sake!" Cortana squalled

"What the hell do you think I'm doing?" he grunted back at the AI.

The struggle continued as the Master Chief punched Orna across the face, causing his face to bleed heavily and been given a black eye. Growing in fury, the Commander grabbed at this rifle at his side and launched a burning bolt of plasma at the human's face, sending him flying backwards.

Orna grunted in satisfaction and strutted over to the limp form of the Master Chief, who lay composing himself.

Cortana yelped "Uh, Chief? We got company-!"

Orna was going to shoot him in the temple, he was going to dismember his body, he was going to take his head to the Hierarchs, but he never got the chance as a spray of plasma pounded on his armor.

_Erad ohw?! _The gold Sangheili thought as he whipped around. All he saw was Balamiya Utethy, bloody and uniform torn, her plasma rifle pointed at him with both hands. She was panting and her eyes were narrowed.

_Utethy! Get away! Run! Run! _

He wanted to scream at her, scream at her to run away, but he couldn't. John allowed her to fight, and the price he must pay was more than he could bear.

Utethy flung a military knife at the Elite and he smartly held up the armored gauntlet on his right wrist, causing the blade to stick in the armor. Orna attempted to shoot her in the chest, but she dodged it by hitting the deck. Once again she aimed the rifle at the Sangheili's head, the Elite aiming his rifle at her head.

"_Nug taht htiw doog ytterp er'uoy kniht?" _She spat out, clearly mocking him.

"_Namuh eugnot ruoy dloh" _

"_Hctib a fo nos uoy, sruoy dloh ot tnaw thgim uoy." _Utethy tightened the grip on her plasma rifle. _"Ffo deah gnikcuf ruoy wolb erofeb." _

Orna was enraged. _"Nehtaeh tnetepmocni uoy, ecnelis."_

"I will, once you listen to me. So let's talk."

The quietness in the room was almost deafening. A plot had already formed in Utethy's head, and she could only hope it would work.

"Your Excellency...if you can understand my words-"

Then, in English, Orna said deathly calm "I can."

"Good," Utethy nodded her head. "Your Excellency...not three days ago, not three days before I was sent here for reasons I don't know...I found out I was pregnant."

John's eyes widened and Cortana laughed loudly and hysterically.

"_Siht si tahw?" _

"I carry inside of me a baby. A child that is innocent in every way possible. You Sangheili are religious and believe that all life is sacred, no?"

Orna nodded; it was true that the Sangheili were a devoted race. The murder of an unborn innocent was considered the worst crime one could commit. But he needed proof.

"_Tnangrep era uoy em ot evorp." _

Smiling, knowing the Sangheili would ask such a question, she pulled out her slider cell phone. It was blinking a small red light over and over again. She reached out and allowed the Elite to snatch it away. Curiously he stared at it.

"The blinking red light means I'm pregnant, Your Excellency."

Clenching the phone he glared at her. "I can figure it out for myself, thank you." But they both knew he couldn't. Again he stared at it, looking it over, then handed it back.

"_Neht, uoy eveileb ot erew I esoppous?"_

She looked at him pleadingly. "Let me and my friends go. And we btoh forget this moment ever happened."

Orna was a Sangheili of honor, of morals and of utter devotion to his Prophets and forced upon God. His Prophets said that humans are nothing but scum, none were innocent. The Hierarchs had given countless sermons on how the Humans were the devil children, seeds of hatred and vice. Their children would kill Covenant born and bred innocents. Orna had children of his own and he couldn't let this whore's child kill his own.

"You miserable harlot." with that Orna 'Fulsamee raised his plasma rifle and her head and was about to pull the trigger.

But not before the Marines did a number on him first.

"You like killing pregnant chicks?! Do ya? DO YA?!" Gordon spat out as he emptied his gun on the Elite.

Jacobson kicked the corpse and spat on it. "Fucker." then went to Utethy and helped her to her feet. Gordon looked her over, debating whether or not to call a team to pick up the girl. A pregnant teen isn't a good situation to be in, especially in a war.

John immediately ran up to her. "Is the baby okay?"

"What?"

"The baby! Is the baby alright? He didn't hurt the baby at all did he?"

Utethy laughed out loud and almost fell over. "What baby?! I lied! Sangheili are fucking religious as hell, apparently this guy believed it was okay to shoot me dead."

They all stood in silence for a while, before Gordon smacked her upside the head with the butt of his gun. "Little bitch."

"Whatever. Let's keep going. There's bound to be some shit in this place."

Sanderson, mad that this kid got them all so nervous for nothing, piped up. "This is good enough for us. We'll wait here while you find the captain."

"Bring your kid with you." Jacobson pushed her in the Master Chief's direction. "And make sure she gets killed or something."

"Fuck you, too!"

"Come on..." John dragged her by the arm out of the Control Center. Utethy had her guns and the knife she pulled out of the Elite's gauntlet. They almost passed a brig, before Utethy stopped and looked around.

"This is the place, Chief. The Covenant holding cells aboard the Truth and Reconciliation."

Cortana also "looked" around and then commented. "Utethy's right, This is the brig. These look like holding cells. There are probably multiple detention centers. The Captain must be in one of them, we need to keep looking."

"Looks like it's gonna suck," Utethy cringed at the holding cells condition.

"It is."

* * *

I needed to get this out ASAP. So enjoy while I write the next one. 


	19. Shut Up And Get Behind Me! Sir

_Find yourself. Believe in your abilities. _

* * *

**The Hanging Garden**

I am not a good author. I am a bad writer to you people. A very bad writer. I'm just a procrastinator who already knows how's she's going to do the second part of this story. Again, there is some Sangheili speak in this, and again, all you need to do is translate fowards.

* * *

**Chapter 19 :: Shut Up And Get Behind Me!...Sir **

"So, what do you know about how Covenant treat their prisoners?"

The sudden question startled Utethy out of her reverie. She looked at the Master Chief and responded to his question.

"Well, I don't know lot, but from what I do know it's not fun." She peeked into a room where a dead carcass of a Marine rotten in chains. "Not fun at all."

"I can tell." Cortana quipped.

Utethy explored a crate filled with Covenant weaponry and added three of the things she could carry: three plasma grenades and three plasma pistols. It wasn't a lot, but it would get her somewhere. As she examined a needler, a frag grenade dropped onto the ground. Bending down she caught a ripple of active camo, along with a few Grunts, Jackals and four Elites. Squinting, she saw humans in what seemed to be cages.

Squealing with joy, she covered her mouth to prevent herself from giving their position away. The Master Chief had found it before her, and was giving her a sign to stand down.

"This is where you stay here, and I rescue the Captain." he whispered hoarsely. "Too dangerous"

But Utethy shook her head, the pink-and-purple bangs swaying back and forth from the vigorousness of her defiance. "No, I'm coming with you. Chief look! I'm loaded!"

Deciding that she's already got one foot in the grave, he allowed her to come with him. Grabbing her plasma rifle, she stood behind the Master Chief and looked at the captives. The bodyguards noticed the green armor and lost all control of themselves, delirious with hope.

"It's the Chief!"

"Chief! Chief!

"Come on, Chief! Lemme out!"

With a "here goes nothing" sigh, they charged in and fired at any Covenant fucker who dared screw with them.

The Master Chief was able to kill some of the Grunts and a few of the Jackals, but the bigger ones were going for Utethy, who was being overwhelmed with fear and being outnumbered.

Throwing a frag grenade at the group, Utethy was able to run and duck, whilst three Elites ended up dead.

"Chief, what the hell is going on?!" The voice was from the Captain, and he looked confused at the sight of a little girl hauling ass...badly.

"I'd like to know that myself, Captain!" Cortana called out, apparently worried and frustrated at the girl.

Standing up, Utethy gave a roundhouse kick to the Elite. The warrior caught her foot and hurled her across the room, causing her to bang her head and open the healing wound on her head. John could no longer hold back and watch her die. Ignoring the sound of the bodyguards yelling at him, he charged towards the vicious Sangheili and gave the creature a sharp uppercut to the face. The Elite was a veteran to physical wounds, and despite blood pouring from his face, he grabbed the Master Chief's head and slammed it into the rock hard wall. Satisfied, the Elite walked over to the fallen girl, who was saking with fear.

Utethy lay on the ground, scared at the prospect of being torn apart by the Elites. Her eyes widened as she heard the ominous sound of an Elite stepping close to her. She heard him growl and saw the blinding white light of a plasma sword.

A sword...

Time seemed to stop as a memory came over her, a memory she didn't know she had. The sight of thousands of dead bodies, human bodies littering the planet. A Sangheili warrior held up a rotting carcass and showed it proudly to his troop.

_The humans...they didn't need to die...this is my fault for leaving them_. _The Covenant will pay dearly for their lost lives...they will pay dearly. My Children...why did you betray me? _

Utethy rolled onto her back and watched in harmonious awe as he raised the plasma sword over her. A sense of calm washed over her, like it had before many times. A familiar serenity that only a god possessed.

Anger grow inside of her, furious at the fact that the Prophets became so high and mighty. Over what?!

_The Prophets have betrayed me. They have lost themselves to hate and envy. There is nothing I can do...but redeem myself for my selfish actions..._

The Elite was about to plunge his sword into her, but the rage inside of the girl unleashed itself in a way that no one would forget.

Utethy balled her right hand into a fist and with an animalistic growl, plunged her hand through the Elite's chest.

A horrified scream echoed from the room. Utethy didn't realize what she had done until purple blood dripped down her sleeve, covering the white fabric. Her eyes widened and watched the Elite gasp his last breath. Fearing she might've gon through the warrior, she flexed her fingers and felt the cool air that hit her blood stained hand. Looking around the girl saw several aliens motionless is shock, the Master Chief standing in disbelief and the bodyguards shaking in horror.

"S-sorry..." she whimpered

"Jesus Christ on the cross..just pull your hand out, kid." was the Captain's mumbled reply.

Staring at the Elite's hollow eyes she curled her hand into a fist, placing both her feet on the creature's chest and simultaneously pulled her hand out and pushed the Elite off. The body fell with a sickeningly wet splat.

"WITCH! WITCH! HUMAN CRAZY!"

Grunts and Jackals scrambled to the door, disappearing down the hallways screaming hysterically.

Then all eyes were on her. Nervously she shrugged and smiled as the Master Chief released a sigh of frustrated disbelief as he pushed a button the unlocked the cells. The Captain's eyes immediately fell upon Utethy; her uniform soaked with sweat, her hair and face coated with her blood and her right hand and sleeve covered with Elite blood.

"I apologize on her behalf, Captain." The Master Chief placed a hand on her shoulder. "She's a very intelligent but reckless-"

"Coming _here _was reckless! You two know better than this! Especially with this small girl with you...who is she, anyway? Why is she here?" Keyes was livid. A girl, a human civilian on Halo. How was she not dead yet? "Is she a POW?"

Utethy nodded "Yes sir. I was. A Sangheili male kidnaped me and took me for his bride. I was his prisoner for weeks."

A bodyguard's eyes lit up. "I heard of you! You're practically legendary! The human wife of a Sangheili...what's a Sangheili anyways, kid?"

"I believe you call them 'Elites.' And nothing extreme happened, you have nothing to worry about."

Captain Keyes' eyes widened. "That's not what I heard."

"Then what did you hear?" Utethy wondered, crossing her arms. But the Captain only shook his head.

"It's in the past now, we shouldn't dwell on it. Besides, I have even more important news. While we were locked up here, I overheard the Covenant talking about this ringworld. They call it...Halo."

Utethy smiled. Maybe he knew something about this Prince Dios Abraxas. She opened her mouth, but Cortana (purposely) interrupted her, so the girl would not make a fool of herself anymore.

"One moment sir. Accessing Covenant battlenet..." a silence seemed to last forever, then she continued to speak.

"According to the data in their networks, this ring has some sort of deep religious significance. If I'm analyzing this correctly...they believe Halo is some sort of weapon bestowed upon them by a God..one wish vast, unimaginable power." Cortana paused for a moment, thinking things over.

Keyes frowned. A weapon with unimaginable power that the Covenant had in their clutches. That does not bode well for Humanity.

"Well, that's true." He mumbled. "The Covenant kept saying 'Whoever controls Halo-'"

"Controls the fate of the universe..." Utethy finished for him in a dream-like voice. "Halo is a religious icon, sir. It is-"

"Now is see!" Cortana, wishing Utethy would stop embarrassing herself, said thoughtfully. "I've intercepted a number of messages about a Covenant search team, scouting for a control room. I thought they were looking for the bridge of a cruiser I damaged in the battle above the ring.But they must be looking for Halo's control room!"

"Captain Keyes, please listen to me!" Utethy shot a glare at the Master Chief's helmet, where Cortana snickered and sighed with impatience. "Captain, Halo is a religious icon. They believe that Halo, once activated, will usher them all to The Great Journey. I have no clue what it is, but they cannot activate the ring!"

"Utethy, shhhhh!" John tried to cover her mouth with his hand, but she forcefully brushed it away. Standing straight and in a loud voice she continued.

"This ring brings no salvation! It's a weapon, but they believe it to be the opposite! We have to find this control room and beat the scouting parties to it! If this ring, along with the other six, activate, it's the end of Humanity, and Covenant, as we know it!!"

Keyes' frown deepened. "That's bad news. If Halo is a weapon, and the Covenant gain control of it, it's like this girl said and we're all doomed. May I ask how you know all this?"

"I was a Sangheili's bride. I know things." she said. "And I somehow knew a lot of stuff I didn't even think I knew. Odd, eh?"

"Ah, yes. How could I forget?"

"Sir, while listening to the Covenant chit-chat, did you hear anything about a 'Prince Dios'? I think he may have something to do with Halo and the Covenant-Human War." Utethy's voice was eager and willing.

Keyes remembered suddenly of them worshiping a small idol hours before the Chief arrived here. It was rose colored and they began to chant in alien tongues, bowing and praying to it. Once they were finished with their time of worship, they began to talk of the Rose Prince, the one who will come and bless the Covenant with immortality. The Rings were built to honor Dios' seven virtues.

"Yes, I did. They said that this 'Prince Dios', was their god, and they were waging a war in his name."

Utethy sighed. Some things never change; 21st Century or no. "What else did they say?"

"They claimed that Dios had chosen them as their Children, and the humans were angering him, befouling his holy universe. Quite religious zealots, are they not?"

The bodyguards nodded and mumbled in agreement. Keyes' face immediately took on a took of determination. "Master Chief, Cortana...I have a new mission for you. We need to beat the Covenant to Halo's control room! Take your friend with you," he nodded to Utethy, who blushed with modesty. "She seems to know a lot more than she lets on."

"No offense sir, but don't you think we should finish up this mission before we begin another?" The Master Chief said, forcing Utethy behind him in an act to make her less noticeable, not noticing her walking off.

"Good idea, someone hand me a gun."

Utethy picked up a needler laying on the ground and waved the weapon at them "This one's pretty good! A few rounds ought to kill an Unggoy pretty fast an a Sangheili a tad bit slower." she handed it to the Captain, who took it out of politeness. "It's very powerful nonetheless."

"Thank you, Miss." Captain Keyes forced a smile as he looked at the nearly useless item. "I'm sure this will work just fine. Marines, let's move!"

They rushed out the brig's large doorway, cautiously looking around everywhere for Covenant hostility. Utethy had wandered away slightly from the group and noticed a plasma grenade laying at the crossroads of hallways. Smiling, she stooped down to pick it up, but was stopped by a low growl from where the grenade laid peacefully.

A cloaked Elite, how could she have forgotten such a simple trick?!

Zek taught her the trick; lay a valuable item the humans might need near your feet, wait in silence for them and when they attempt to pick it up, the cloaked Elite kills you.

She backed away slowly, but the rippling of movement from the creature coming after her scared the girl into screaming and running, causing a flood of Grunts, Elites and Jackals.

Taking notice of the situation the Marines got into battle formation immediately. Taking aim at a Grunt he fired, watching the pink crystals break and kill the alien almost as soon as they hit it. The girl knew her weaponry.

Cortana sighed and placed a hand to her head "Does she ever stop, or will she keep on getting herself into trouble?"

"No, she won't. And yes, she will." was John's exhausted reply.

Utethy jumped as a Grunt fired a few grenades at them, allowing them to hit the deck and explode just a few feet from her. A jackal holding a shield cackled and raised his pistol to kill her, when Utethy got one of her brilliant ideas.

"Hello, there." She said in a friendly tone, smiling. "My name's Utethy. What's yours?"

The Jackal was surprised that a human at his mercy would be foolish enough to exchange dialogue with him. He played along.

"Yef. My name is Yef."

"Hi, Yef. Pleasure to meet you."

Catching Yef off guard, she kicked the feet out from under him. She grabbed nearby debris and smashed his skull in. Her comrades and allies didn't even glance her way, so she was safe from both the Marine's scolding and the Covenant's attacks.

She decided this would be the perfect moment to loot the carcass before anyone sees her. Taking the arm shield, the gun and some grenades off the Jackal, she was more than ready to kick some ass.

But before she could even try to fight, the battle was over.

"Good Marines," the Captain said, glad that Utethy had hidden herself amongst the bodies, "Let's head to the bridge"

"Good idea sir,"

So they moved quicky to the bridge, facing whatever came their way and pushing through any resistance that hindered them.

And then, finally, they made it.

Utethy stretched her arms out and surveyed the interior. Nothing suspicious here. She watched as the Marines from before gave her snide looks and were resisting hitting her with the butt of their guns. But they wouldn't hurt a girl in front of the Captain.

"Sir!" they saluted simultaneously.

"At ease, marines." Keyes nodded and they relaxed. "It looks like we're in the clear. Does anyone see anything?"

"Not so-mmph!" Utethy was cut off by a strong hand clamping over her mouth. She squirmed and tried to release herself from the grasp of a Sangheili. The young girl felt the tip of the gun press against her temple, and she knew she was going to die.

"CHIEF! LOOK!"

They turned and saw Utethy, hanging hid air by an Active-Camo Elite. Seeing that he had been found out, the disabled the camouflage and allowed himself to be seen by the Humans. Clever bastards.

John may have been taught to stay calm in situations like this, but seeing a helpless little thirteen year old girl in the grasp of an Elite made him want to loose control. The Marines and the Captain stood their ground.

"Let her go," John growled, demanding she be released.

"_Lrig, uoy," _She shook Utthy and slighty uncovered her mouth. _"Yas did eh tahw?_

Shaking, Utethy translated for him. _" Og em tel, dais eh." _

"_Reven. Semirc rouy rof eid lliw uoy." _

She looked baffled. What crimes? What did the humans do to deserve such cruelty? For some reason, she could feel the Sangheili's hatred for her, for the Marines, for all humans. And with it came grave disappointment with herself.

Utethy then saw a ripple of motion coming towards the Marines, planning to ambush behind them. Afraid for John, she began to scream for them to look out, only it was muffled by the hand and the gun to her head.

"MMMPH! MMMPH!!" she struggled to point at the camouflaged Sangheili, but it was only when a bodyguard went down did they notice why she was screaming. Now they were torn between helping Utethy and saving their own skins.

Utethy felt anger bubble within her, and with a swift motion she knocked the gun out from the alien's hand and spun out of his grasp. With cat-like reflexes she dodged his hand from colliding with her head and grabbed the gun.

With her legs spread in a half-split and her left hand supporting her body, she attempted to shoot the Zealot, but with a malicious smirk he too dodged the plasma and kicked her across the room, sending her flying into a wall, knocking her unconscious.

The Master Chief saw it all, and the fury inside of him practically unleashed a monster within him. She was only a child, an innocent civilian who didn't deserve this fate. The Elite cackled and activated his Plasma Sword, charging for her.

He didn't know what happened next. The only things he could remember were shooting off its hand and the feeling of its neck in his grasp. A primal instinct that only a mate could have for his other took control of him, and before long the Elite's neck was twisted in a grotesque angle, bone sticking out of the flesh.

"Master Chief, you mind telling me what just happened?" Keyes had a look of disapproval on his face.

"My apologies, Sir. But he tried to kill Utethy, and I had no other choice." He took one good look at his hands and he felt no shame in what he had done. "I had to protect her. It's the least I could do for what she's done for me."

It was here Cortana piped up. "Yes, she did save your 'metal ass' a lot of times, did she not?" She went silent. "I'll call Foehammer, we'll get her somewhere safe."

The AI's voice went static.

"_Cortana to Echo419! We have the captain and a wounded. We need extraction on the double!!" _

She was obviously concerned for the well being of Utethy, who lay motionless in a dent in the wall.

"_Negative, Cortana." _Foehammer responded. _"I've been engaged by Covenant air patrols, I'm havin' a tough time shakin' 'em! You'll be better off finding your own ride. Sorry" _

Cortana sighed with disappointment and frustration. _"Acknowledged Foehammer. Cortana out_" She wanted to swear aloud, but the levelheaded AI kept her cool. "Air support is cut off, Captain," she said with a stoic tone. If she were human, she'd be on the verge of tears. "We need to hold here until she can move in"

"Aw, man! We're trapped!" One of the bodyguards began to panic. "We're screwed man, SCREWED!!"

But Keyes wouldn't have it. He needed everyone to remain calm, especially since they had a civilian with them. "Stow the bellyaching soldier, remember you're a leatherneck." He glared at the bodyguard, who fell silent. "Cortana, if you and the Chief can get us into one of those Covenant dropships, I can fly us out of here."

John wasn't paying much attention, he was holding Utethy and gently shaking her, cursing his luck and wishing he'd saved her. What if she never woke up? What if she died? For once, he felt that he had failed. And he couldn't remember the last time he failed.

"Yes, Captain. There's a Covenant dropship still docked." Cortana was just as worried, but kept herself calm. Mentally she kicked John, sending him back to reality. Quickly she informed him of the dropship, and how this could get them out of here. He loved the idea.

Willing himself to let go of the girl, he raced out of the room with the guns strapped on him, ready to take out anyone to dares stop him. The Marines and the Captain followed.

And as Utethy was being carried by one of the bodyguards, as the Master Chief hauled ass, she began to dream...

* * *

_The Humans were good to him. They praised his name and gave him their good crops. They looked at him as a leader, a friendly neighborhood angel, a God. _

_He would watch the Humans, his Rose Children, as they went to his temples and glorified him. But this planet, these people, was sacred. He wanted to be one of them, to be a human. But if he were human, he could not create beautiful things for them, could he?_

_Roses sprang up in gardens, around his temples, around and even in homes. With each beautiful thing he created, with each dry land he made fertile, with each prayer answered, they praised his name even more. _

"_**Hail Prince Dios Abraxas! Our Lord and our God!"**_

_Happiness welled inside of him, and he laughed. _

* * *

John hurried to unhook the dropship from the clamps, and with one last forceful tug and grunt, he freed the ship.

"That's it!" Cortana cheered. "The dropship is loose.Let's get Utethy on here first."

"My thoughts exactly," John murmured. He rushed to the bodyguard holding her, and scooped the girl from his arms into his own. John rushed into the ship and sat down, holding Utehty protectively.

"Everyone mount up, let's get onboard." The Captain and the rest of the Marines climbed into the ship, sitting down since there were no seats. Keyes immediately went to the controls, and tinkered his way around.

"Gimme me a minute to interface with the ships controls," Cortana noticed he was having a bit of trouble with one of the little buttons. "Makes both our jobs easy, sir."

Keyes smirked. "No thanks, I'm taking this bird out myself"

Almost as if on cue, two Hunters came rushing out of the doors towards the dropship. Cortana gasped in fright.

"Captain! Hunters!"

Keyes' smirk grew even larger as he rammed the two into the wall, spraying a flood of orange blood all over the floor.

"Nice one, Sir!" Harrison laughed.

"Now let's get out of here, and somewhere safe." Keyes turned his attention to flying the ship to the nearest post, which was quite a distance from where they were.

In her dream, or in some sort of knowledge of reality, Utethy's joyous laughter could be heard echoing in space.

* * *

Next chapter will be up soon. It'll be an original chappie, so no stalling here. 


	20. A Little Rest and Relaxation

_You are your own best friend._

* * *

**The Hanging Garden**

So here's the original chapter I was talking about. Some _R&R_ for the trio. Oh, and Utethy's slider cell phone is a Kyocera. Look it up, it's pretty nifty. It's also my cell phone, believe it or not.

Oh, and we're also paying a little visit to an old friend of Utethy's near the end...

* * *

**Chapter 20: A Little Rest and Relaxation **

John sat, helmet by his side, outside the medical station's room for Utethy. The doctor was in and he was examining the unconscious girl with care.

He worried about her, and why he wasn't able to save her. He worried that maybe she may be in a coma, and may never wake up. What would the Marines think then about Spartans? That they're too busy fighting and spilling blood than to save an innocent civilian. Oh, that's just wonderful!

And if she was dead, how could he deal with Cortana, and the rest of the SPARTANs? She was only thirteen, the poor girl.

"Master Chief?"

The sound of his nickname startled him and he looked to his left, where a man in a white doctor's coat stood. His nametag said _DR. MCGRAW. _He had an elderly face, with slick back brown hair, a pair of sunglasses hanging on his jacket. He looked like a regular cowboy, had he had the hat.

John stood, put his helmet back on, and followed Dr. McGraw into Room #199, where Utethy slept, hair down and eyes closed in blissful slumber. She was in a hospital gown, some wires hooked up to her chest, the whiteness of the room making the normally adjustable supersoldier very nervous.

The doctor spoke with a thick Southern accent. "So, SPARTAN-117, tell me what happened exactly, don't spare me the gory details."

What could he say?

"It wasn't as bad...she was kicked by an Elite into a wall. I was...preoccupied."

The doctor tisked and smoothed down a strand of hair. "You can tell she's been through a lot more than that. Look," he tilted her head to show thick stitches on her scalp. "She was bleeding a lot from this side of her head, and here, in the back of her head, she suffered another open wound to the back from being kicked, I sutured that up pretty good. It's a miracle she didn't break her skull."

"Will she recover?"

"Of course."

A silence pierced the air, with the doctor adjusting the wires on her, making sure her breathing was normal. She took a huge breath of air, then exhaled. McGraw waved away a foreign bug as he spoke.

"Them Covenant had to be mad dogs in order t' hurt a gal like this." He leaned in close to her, admiring the innocent sleeping beauty. "Look at 'er, Chief. She's a goddamn beauty. Big puppy eyes...bubble-gum and purple majesty hair...she's a rose colored angel..."

John brushed his gloved hand against her cheek, taking in what the doctor described as an angel. Yeah, she was an angel. She did save his life many times, and he owed her. McGraw turned to fill out a

Yet as his hand moved away, her eyes shot opened, the pupils dilating with unsuspecting fear. She sucked in a wet gasp of air, staring at the Master Chief. Utethy bolted upright with a gasping scream, sending McGraw jumping out of his skin.

"GODDAMNIT!!" he yelled, clutching his chest. "YOU STUPID BITCH WHAT THE HELL?!"

Utethy didn't answer; she was breathing heavily and loudly, trying to comprehend where she was. She whipped her head around, perspiration pouring down her face. Slowly everything came to her: trying to be a badass and shoot the Sangheili in a sexy pose, the gun firing, the alien kicking her in the chest, her head colliding with the wall-

"AH!"

The memory triggered pain in her skull, and she reached behind her head to feel the thick stitches tangling with her hair. The feeling sickened her, and she moved her hand away. Utethy saw the doctor, calming himself down, and the Master Chief, staring at her.

"Are you alright?" he awkwardly asked.

Mouth agape, breathing hard, she nodded "Y-yeah..."

Dr. McGraw coughed a bit and looked at Utethy. "Well," he stated. "At least we know that this tall drink o' cocksucker ain't dead..." he turned on his heel and left in a huff, still mad about being scared.

Cortana laughed and then spoke to Utethy. "How are you feeling? That was some hit you took."

Utethy nodded again. She didn't want to talk. Shifting herself off of the bed, she grabbed the slippers and headed to the bathroom, clothes in hand. She felt around her neck for the locket and sighed, it was still there. Carefully she opened it, and smiled at the black-and-white picture of her parents smiling back at her.

_Mom...Dad...what would you say if you saw me now?_

Shaking her head she got dressed quickly, fingering the ring on her finger. The items on her person were the only links to her time. That, and her cell phone.

Her cell phone!!

Utethy flung open the bathroom door and faced the Mater Chief. He was examining the bed she lay upon, he looked up to see her panicked face.

"Where's my cell phone?!"

Cortana spoke for the surprised Master Chief. "You mean the little sliding phone you showed me? I don't know..."

"What do you mean 'you don't know'?!"

If Cortana was in physical form, she would've shrugged. "Yeah, I don't know."

"So you didn't see it, Cortana?"

"Am I supposed to keep track of your shit while you're horsing around?"

Utethy lost it. She grabbed the Master Chief's helmet ("OW HEY!") and pulled his head down to her face level. "Listen to me, you little piece of scrap: that is the only, the _ONLY _thing I have that proves I'm from the 21st Century. Not to mention, it's probably worth a couple hundred bucks..."

"Piss off, Balamiya!" Cortana spat.

Her eyes lit up with fire as Utethy wrapped her legs around the Master Chief's waist and yelled into his helmet, obscenities flying from the girl and the AI.

"Fuck you!"

"Fuck you, too!"

"Where is my cell phone?!"

"A persistent little bitch aren't you?

"Girls," John grumbled. "Please stop yelling in my ear...and you!" He wrapped an arm around Utethy. "Get off of me, now!"

Two strong and loud voices echoed together in a "FUCK YOU!!", then resumed in their heated argument.

Just then, however, a young Marine walked into the room. His mouth was opened in speech, but soon shut with shock. Utethy realized how suggestive her position was on the Master Chief and let go of him. She put her hands behind her back, but gave a quick punch to his helmet for good measure. Cortana growled.

The Marine was too shocked to say anything, and slammed the door behind him.

"Nice," Cortana grumbled. "This could've been prevented if you hadn't been such a pain." Utethy folded her arms in embarrassment. She felt very ashamed for her actions. A blush tinted her cheeks for a while, but the excited sounds outside startled all three of them.

"It's an artifact!"

"Ancient! It's so rare, too!"

"How much is it? I'll pay top dollar for it."

Curiosity got the better of them and they peeked outside. A very large group of soldiers, doctors and even some army officials gathered around a man holding an unidentifiable object.

"What's all the commotion about?" the Master Chief stepped forward, and silence echoed in the hallway. Some Marines snorted and rolled their eyes, others bowed their heads and stepped back in a mixture of awe and intimidation.

The Marine holding the artifact looked at the SPARTAN quizzically. "What do you want? Don't hog all the glory."

"Let me see the artifact."

Shrugging, the Marine opened his palm and Utethy gasped.

"Tha-that's my cell phone!"

She stomped over to the Marine and glared him down. It was one of her most prized possessions, and she wasn't losing it. "I demand to have my cell phone back. It's rightfully mine."

"This?" he pointed at the cell phone. "This is yours?"

She nodded. The Marine laughed.

"If this is yours, you must have either bought it-"

"Yeah, I did buy it."

"Where?"

"At a Verizon store"

The marine cocked an eyebrow. "What's that?"

Utethy sighed. "A store that sells cell phones."

"Which colony is that on? I need one of these for my collection." An army official, a general, pointed at the cell phone.

"No colony. It's an Earth phone. It's mine, I bought it. I'm from the 21st Century, circa 2004. I'm not from the 26th Century, FYI. So give me back my phone now, okay?"

"So it's on Earth, eh?" the general said, scratching his chin in thought. "How much are they?"

"This one was about...I dunno, actually. Wait... 'collection'?" Utethy stared blankly at him.

The general nodded. "Yes, I collect things from the centuries past. It's a, hobby of mine. I started when I was just a lad. I've completed my 20th Century collection and I'm halfway through my 21st century one. This beautiful piece of primitive technology is just the thing I need." The general kneeled to he could look at her in the eye. "Listen, young Miss, I'll pay you 10,000 cR for this lovely, um..."

"Slider. Slider cell phone." Utethy mumbled her response. "Wait...cR? Don't we use dollars, Yen, um...pounds, those sort of thing?"

"What's a 'Yen'?" One Marine asked.

_Oh, God, _Utethy rolled her eyes internally. _This is a real culture shock. _

"Listen, _I'm _the one who found it, so _I'm _the one who keeps it, alright General?" The Marine holding her cell phone turned to Utethy. "I'll give you 100, 000 cR for this."

"NO!"

Everyone turned to the Master Chief. He placed a hand of Utethy's shoulder. "It's hers. No one is getting it, no matter what. It means a lot to her and it's the only thing that reminds her of her home. So," he turned to the now shaking Marine and plucked the item out of his hands and into Utethy's. "If anyone has a problem with this, please...I'm listening"

No one said a thing. They were too stunned. Shrugging and mumbling, the crowd dissipated and left the trio by themselves. Utethy slid open her phone, and sighed helplessly as she remembered her own time.

But it wasn't as if she cared about the evil foster parents she had.

Carefully tucking it into her pocket the girl turned her back on the scene, following the Master Chief as he headed for the cafeteria.

* * *

They sat at a table together, but Utethy was the only one that ate. The lunch was meatball parmigiana with milk, and while it wasn't bad, it wasn't good either.

"How is it?"

"Nasty."

"I thought as much."

The trio received stares from other Marines, laughs and whispers were surrounding them. John, used to such stares and gossip, felt terrible for Utethy.

A strong, burly Marine sat at the table they occupied. His smirked and gave a subtle nod at his comrades. Utethy looked at his tag, and it identified him as _SMITH, ERIK. _

"Rumor's going around about you, little missy." He snickered. "Everyone's saying you'refrom the 21st Century. Personally, I think you're doing this for attention."

"_Oh really?"_

"Yes, really."

Utethy ignored the statements and shoved a forkful of the parmigiana in her mouth in an attempt to silence herself. Usually if anyone tried to mess with her, she would pummel them to death. But here she needed to look good. This isn't the time she's used to anyway.

Erik slammed a hand on the table. He wasn't used to being ignored. "Hey kid! Who the hell are you and where the hell do you come from?!"

John stood and grabbed Erik by the neck, glaring him down. "Leave her alone. I don't believe her time affiliation is any concern to you, Smith."

"Oh really?" Erik sneered. "What are you doing hanging around her?"

John shrugged. "Because no one else is going to protect her."

An uproarious laugh came from all sides of them. Some were crying from laughing, others couldn't breathe. Utethy wanted to say something, anything, but she was afraid of embarrassing herself. But she needed to say something.

"Hey, buddy." her voice was thick with sarcasm. "Are you being an asshole to piss me off, or are you being an asshole, because you _are _and asshole?"

A roar of anger and a high pitched scream echoed for miles as Utethy jumped from her seat to avoid a hand punch to the face. Cursing herself internally, she rant to the entrance of the cafeteria, Erik Smith hot on her trail. Halfway down the hallway, Smith shouted,

"THE BITCH CAN SPRINT!!"

Sending everyone but the Master Chief and Cortana into a fit of laughter. Utethy said nothing, making John worried for her safety. He stepped towards the entrance to assist her, but Cortana's voice stopped him

"Let her go, Chief...she needs to know how to defend herself. Especially when she's the one who caused her own bad luck."

Utethy's violently loud shriek pierced the air.

"Okay, I take that back. Save her ass before that guy kills her."

John raced down the hallways and found Erik looking at a door, yelling at it while trying to pry it open. The Master Chief eased him back and knocked twice.

"Utethy? Guess who?"

"John! Stop this maniac from beating the shit out of me!" her muffled plea came from behind the door, shaking in fear and almost sounded like she was laughing underneath it all.

"Put me near the door, Chief." Cortana demanded, her voice laced with authority. He nodded and eased the side of his head near the door, almost as if he was trying to hear what was going on.

"Balamiya Utethy, you dumb brat!!" She scolded harshly. "What on Earth were you thinking, talking to a high ranking Marine like that? You should be ashamed for your little quip back there. What do you have to say for yourself?"

The Master Chief heard Utethy sigh. "I feel like a douche-"

"And what else? Are you going to apologize?"

"Only if you guys stop him from killing me."

"Agreed. Deal?"

"Deal."

Utethy slightly opened the door, poking her head out as if to test her surroundings. She looked at John, who waved at her to come to him, and the flew to his side, embracing his waist.

Cortana loudly cleared her throat, and Utethy looked at Erik, who was still flaming mad. "Sorry, Erik. I got carried away...kinda."

Erik mumbled something incoherent and walked away. John sighed and looked at Utethy, who was staring at the Armory room behind her, the room she hid in. She released her grip on the Master Chief and opened the door. Curious she walked further inside and flipped on a light.

"...you're kidding, right?"

The Master Chief followed her, tugging on her arm. "You shouldn't be in here, let's go."

"Dude, you're kidding me. Look at these!" Utethy snorted as she picked up a pistol. It was relatively unimpressive, looking almost exactly like the one her previous foster father had in his drawer. Well, he was a cop, so he needed it. Before he died and his bitch of a wife sent her to the orphanage to rot, he was a good man.

"No wonder the Covenant's winning, you're using weapons that date back to the 19th Century!" she placed it back with disgust. "Upgrade or something. Doesn't this century have anything neat?"

"Like, what?"

"Like...hovercars? It's 2552, right?"

"Yes, but we don't have any hovercars. Just cars with wheels."

Utethy widened her eyes a little bit. Completely shocked. "No hovercars? Okay, well then. How about time travel."

John shook his head. "We have Slipspace, but that's it."

"While the Covenant have advanced technology and at least some hovering vehicles, the humans are still using outdated weapons, centuries old cars and some really lame uniforms" She spat. Okay, this is the, what? 26th Century and they are still using 19th Century shit? What the hell is wrong with people?

"Well, we made some more advances in weaponry," he stated, taking a shotgun for her to see. "See this? Once upon a time this was very weak, very primitive. Now we have revolutionized it to include better and stronger bullets and-"

He stopped, trying to think of what else was special about it, what separated it from it's 20th Century counterpart. He could find nothing.

Utethy rolled her eyes in triumph, taking the weapon and placing it on a crate. She sat next to the weapon and examined it. It was really sleek, but she'd never seen a shotgun before today. It was odd, how her whole life turned upside down only weeks ago. It seemed like a dream. This entire ring seemed like a dream world that she had thought up.

She wondered how Zek was doing, an odd thought, since she didn't even like him. Utethy wondered about how he was getting on in life without her, and smirked as she realized that maybe, just maybe, he really did love her.

"Chief?" she asked. "Have you ever loved someone before?"

"No." he said curtly. "I don't plan on it, ever."

"Ever ever?"

"Yes."

The girl furrowed her brow. "Must be lonely."

"It's not." he explained. "It's better. You don't have anyone holding you back, or complaining. I'm a soldier, Utethy. SPARTANS don't fall in love."

Here Cortana could not keep silent anymore. "Oh really?"

"Yes, really. What is it with female and romance?"

"Well, technically speaking, I'm not really female..."

Utethy gave a mock gasp of surprise. "You're a transsexual?!"

Cortana laughed hysterically. For a girl who got herself in a lot of trouble, she knew what made the AI crack a smile.

Finally Cortana calmed down enough to speak. "No, I'm not a transsexual. I'm a feminine programed AI made by the UNSC, a flash copy from a brain. Interesting, no?"

"Yeah, really cool." Utethy blushed a bit. "Sorry for yelling at you earlier, I was so upset that I lost my cell phone."

"It's alright, I understand."

Silence rang in the armory for a few moments. John coughed as a sign for them to leave, and Utethy grudgingly left the room. Secretively, John shut the door and locked it, hoping no one would see them leave.

Something bugged Utethy. All of this made her homesick for her own time. Her 21st Century home, her old school, her bumbling teachers, the girls who made fun of her, yet adored her from afar, the boys who thought she was too butch, but were jealous of her skills.

"What did I miss these 500 years?"

"Pardon, sweetie?" Cortana crooned.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, surprised that she had said her thought out loud. "I was just wondering what I missed these past 500-and-something years. I wonder what I missed. Is there anyway I can check?"

"Well, get me to a computer and we'll check now shall we?" Then to the Master Chief in a demanding, business-like manner, "Chief, get me to the nearest computer and I'll see what I can do for our little friend."

John internally sighed as he walked to the closes computer room. He hated being bossed about by these girls, especially Cortana. One would think that after some time together she'd let up on the bossiness.

"Well, here we are." He opened the door for Utethy. "Ladies first."

She rolled her eyes and smiled, remembering that he said that last time on the Truth and Reconciliation. Utethy stepped into the room and gazed in awe at the supercomputer. She was impressed, something she hadn't felt since she was with Zek. The Covenant's technology was vastly superior to the Human's.

The Master Chief inserted Cortana's chip, and she flashed onto the projector. "Okay then, what do you want to look up?"

"Hmmmm, well, show me a list of events from 2004 to 2010, okay?"

"Let me check..." Cortana placed her fingers to her temples, and concentrated hard. In a flash the huge screen lit up and a list of what-happened-when filled it. Cortana waved a hand. "Well, there ya go! Have fun."

"Oh, I will. Let's see..."

Her fingers flew over the huge keyboard and her brow furrowed. She typed in some words, and again a list of the word "Jackass" popped up.

"NO FUCKING WAY!!"

If Cortana had an actual body, she would've jumped. John didn't even blink, but he was startled at her sudden outburst. He lay a hand on her shoulder, concerned.

"Utethy, what's the matter?"

She was livid with frustration. "THEY MADE ANOTHER JACKASS MOVIE AND I MISSED IT!!"

John cocked his head in confusion. "Another Jackass movie?"

"Yeah, they made Jackass No. 2 in 2006, and I _missed it!_" She added emphasis on the last two words by stomping her left foot in frustration. "I grew up on that show and I loved the movie, I so wanted to see it...hey, can this thing play trailers?"

"What are trailers?" Cortana said.

"Nevermind." Anger boiling inside of her that she missed such an important event, she scanned the 2004 list. Curiosity tugged at her on what happened after she disappeared. Utethy again typed in her name and saw several news on her.

"BALAMIYA UTETHY, 13, MISSING"

"13 YEAR OLD GIRL PRESUMED DEAD"

"RESIDENT GIRL VANISHES"

"PARENTS QUESTIONED IN BALAMIYA'S DISAPPEARANCE"

Her stomach churned as she clicked on the last headline. There she read that her adoptive parents had been questioned and arrested for child abuse. Her adoptive mother was in tears, apparently, and had said that they truly loved the girl as she and her husband were hauled off to jail. The police supposed that Utethy was either murdered or abducted, but they knew nothing else. Her adoptive parents died in jail, and her school had made a little commemorative shrine in her honor near the entrance of the school.

Under the last sentence was another link ("SCHOOL HONORS MISSING GIRL") that she clicked. Utethy felt tears in her eyes as she saw pictures of a very large shrine in the school. Flowers, notes, letters unread, pictures of her in various activities, ribbons, so many things that it looked like an actual shrine to a lovely goddess. Utethy fell to her knees, and John came to her side.

"Are you alright?"

She shook her head. She felt nauseous. All these people thought she was dead! When in fact she was in the 26th Century, alone and confused, caught in a war that was hers.

"I'm alive, Chief...I'm not dead..." Utethy whispered.

Cortana looked down on her, a look of sympathy on her cerulean face. "Utethy...I'm so sorry." she said in a gentle tone. "The 21st Century must've been a nice time to live in, seeing as all those people cared about you. I wish there was someway we could tell them that you're safe, but-"

The AI didn't finish, as Utethy began to hack in a sickening manner. She clapped a hand over her mouth and raced out of the room. She swung open the nearest restroom door, regardless of who was in it and vomited twice into the closest toilet. Panting and almost crying, she leaned back and rest herself on the wall. Utethy felt like fainting; they all thought she was dead! She wondered why she came here, and why was she desired by both sides.

The confused girl felt strong hands grip her gently and she looked into the visor of the Master Chief. Giving in to her emotions, she cried into his armored shoulder and he did nothing but hold her.

She sniffled and looked at him; she saw nothing but her reflection. "John...I have no idea what's going on. Everything doesn't make any sense...Halo, this war, Cortana, even you! I'm so confused; everything is going so fast and for some reason...I feel responsible."

The Master Chief didn't know what to say. He was never an emotional man, but since Utethy had been with him, he noted that his humanity had slowly been seeping through the tough shell of the hard lined soldier that he had shown for so many years.

Maybe that's why he liked her so much.

"Utethy, first off, this war is not your fault. Second, nothing usually makes sense to a person when their caught in situations like his, and third...well, I don't know." John simply put his arm around her in a comforting manner. "Come on...let's go."

And in an attempt to make her laugh, he slung her over his shoulder. Needless to say, it worked.

Feeling good about himself, he opened the door to the individual toilet and was about to leave when he noticed something odd. The eyes of hundreds of male Marines stared the two down in a manner that said clearly "Get out" and "What the fuck are you two doing here?". The Master Chief then realized that Utethy had run into the men's bathroom completely by accident.

"What's wrong, Chief?" was her little reply from behind him.

"Nothing...just, close your eyes when I turn around, okay?"

"There better not be a dead body."

"No...much worse."

He turned around and she dutifully closed her eyes. She didn't open them until they were outside the bathroom and heard boisterous male laughter. The cold shock set in and she blushed insanely.

John carried her to the computer room, where Cortana had gotten rid of the upsetting displays of her disappearance and replaced the headlines with details of the Human-Covenant War.

"I think you should educate yourself on this, Utethy." The AI said. "This is an important event in everyone's lives...yours especially."

The girl nodded, and asked if she could read everything that included The Covenant, its history, and the war. Cortana supplied Utethy with endless amounts of knowledge, and she gobbled it all up as if she were a starving Jackal.

Hours passed, and the Chief has left to occupy himself (After making sure that Cortana would keep and eye on Utethy) with more interesting things; like working out in the gym room. Utethy collapsed. She felt as if she read the Bible cover to cover without stopping.

The Covenant attacked in 2525; it was 2552 now so...twenty-seven years! Twenty-seven they've been at one another's throat. Twenty-seven years humanity has been under the scourge of these religious zealots. Twenty-seven years...wow. She could only imagine the totally of human losses.

"Amazing, isn't it?"

Utethy was startled by Cortana's sudden voice. The AI's arms were crossed and she had a somber look on her face.

"No mater what we've thrown at them, they've kept coming back. They're not stopping until all of humanity is nothing but history. History that will be forgotten. Something you should know

about the Covenant, Utethy; they attack to destroy. Not conquer. They will wipe out man, woman, child, whatever. In the eyes of every member of the Covenant...they are all vermin"

Utethy pondered those words. She thought of how kind Sala and the others were to her. "Some Covenant don't want to destroy Humanity. Some of them are really nice. Sala and the rest of them...they were my friends."

Cortana laughed bitterly. "You think they were nice because they were your _friends_?! Utethy, they were _using _you! You are an Earth child! Earth is the ultimate prize for the Covenant! They used you so they could extract knowledge of its location from you."

"But I have no idea where Earth _is!_ All I know is that I lived there in the year 2004, the 21st Century AD!" Utethy exclaimed.

"Give that a rest," Cortana mumbled. Then, in a louder voice; "Utethy...even if they were your friends–which they're not– they're still the enemy. They are still as bloodthirsty as ever, even after their experience with you."

"I guess..."

Utethy then sighed. "I miss the Chief. Where is he?"

"I don't know. Look around. I'll be here tidying things up. The documents in this computer are scattered around like socks on a floor."

Shrugging, Utethy left. She felt nervous and lost without Cortana or John. So she wandered the halls aimlessly, for any sort of clue leading to where John was. Thankfully, a sympathetic (and confused) General pointed his whereabouts to the nearest men's locker room.

After an hour of working out, he had retired to the showers.

* * *

It felt so good to finally bathe after all those battles, yet it felt so weird without his MJOLNIR armor. The second skin sat outside on a bench, getting damp from the perspiration in the air.

No one was in the showers but him, as everyone wanted to get away from the "freak". The only people who didn't consider him a freak were Cortana and Utethy. The only two individuals he could trust. Well, aside from his fellow SPARTANS (where were they, actually? He hoped they were safe) and Dr. Halsey.

He liked Utethy. He enjoyed her spunkiness and her naivety. Somehow she had found a way to wiggle her way into his heart, found a way to make him human. There was something about her. Something that made him want to protect and be with her.

John frowned, he was getting attached too quickly to the girl. For all the Master Chief knew, she could be killed sooner than later. And he couldn't allow himself the luxury of a relationship-

The sound of humming stopped his thoughts. The source of the humming was coming right outside the shower he was in, right where his armor was.

_Oh sweet god SHE WOULDN'T!!_

Hoping it wasn't her, he peeked through the foggy glass and saw a bundle of pink and purple hair. This almost sent him in a rage.

Compelled to scream at her until she left, he instead took the route that would most likely make her listen to him a lot better.

"Utethy? Is that you?" he tried to sound as calm as possible.

"Yep."

"Can you leave? It's private here and...well..."

"You're naked?"

"Yes."

A perverted thought crossed her mind to whip open the shower door and take a quick peak, then run like a horny schoolgirl giggling insanely. Utethy decided against it, and instead stayed quiet.

"Utethy...leave now before I beat you up." John began to wash his hair, knowing that Utethy wouldn't leave.

"No you won't. You like me too much."

"True..do you like me?"

"Yeah. Don't get any ideas."

Sighing, he shook his head. She was a really wild one. But he couldn't help but smile.

Hey," she said suddenly, "I'm going to take a shower as well. I stink and my clothes need to be washed and sewed." Utethy then began to undress herself, John's eyes widening and she removed her underthings.

"Utethy...this is the _men's _shower room! The woman's is...right across the hall!" he exclaimed.

"Well, I get lonely easily, and besides, I want to be with you!" Cheerfully she reached for the handle to John's shower, opening it a little bit.

John saw only her face, the fog thick below her neck on the glass separating the two. On instinct he grabbed the watery handle on his side and pulled on it tightly.

"NO! Use another stall! There are plenty!" He chocked out. He shouldn't be seeing the girl like this. Utethy never had intended to walk in with John, she was just playing with him. Giggling, she reached behind her head, fiddled around with the hair and the pink and purple hair came cascading down.

"You have long hair?" John asked. He'd only seen her with her hair short.

"Yep! It used to be strawberry red, but I dyed it. I like pink and purple a lot better, don't you?" She casually stepped into the shower on John's right. The sound of the shower turning on and "aaaahhhhh"s echoed in the room.

"Hey, John! Do you have soap on your side?"

"Yes,"

"Pass it here!"

John threw the soap over to Utethy, who caught it midair. "Thanks." And with that, she scrubbed herself down, humming an odd tune. John looked at the pile of clothes, they were torn and covered with blood; hers and Covenant. But the SPARTAN didn't spy the glimmer of the ring she always wore. Normally he noticed it, just didn't acknowledged the fancy item.

"Utethy?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you still wearing your ring?"

She looked at her left hand, and it shimmered in the light. "Yep. It's the best thing I have."

"You should take it off. So it doesn't get lost."

He heard her laugh. "That's exactly why I'm wearing it! So it doesn't get lost. I love this ring...it's been with me forever."

"Who gave it to you, Utethy?" He finished his shower and turned off the water. "Someone special?"

Utethy was silent. She couldn't tell him about her prince! In a curt voice, she replied "I gave it to myself."

"Ah, well, here's the shampoo and conditioner, and don't stay in long, or you'll take up all the hot water."

"Sure thing."

"I'm taking your uniform to get washed, don't worry about it."

"You do that. But what am I going to wear?"

John smirked as she wrapped a towel around his mid-section. "You can go naked."

"Oh, haha!" Utethy rolled her eyes. "Hey Chief!"

"Yes-woah!" A handful of cold water met his face and he laughed. So, she liked to play rough, eh?

John grabbed a bucket full of frigid water and dumped it on Utethy over the glass door. She shrieked in shock.

"OH NOW YOU'VE DONE IT!!"

Grabbing the nearest towel she herself wrapped it around and picked up a water bottle. Splashing it on him she giggled in pure delight. She hadn't had this much fun in ages!

Their water fight continued three minutes longer before John tripped on a bar of soap laying around and fell on top of her. They both froze.

"Uhm..."

"Uh..."

John blushed and tried to straighten himself out, but a hand caressing his face stopped him. Utethy smiled, pink and purple hair surrounding her head like a halo.

"You're cute."

He blushed harder. "Thank you."

They said nothing to each other as John pushed himself off of her and strode away, leaving her by herself.

"Hey...John?" she piped up. John came back and he smiled at her. "You forgot my clothes."

Grabbing her dirty uniform, he gave a slight kick to side and walked off. Utethy smiled and played with her ring. She should continue bathing herself.

* * *

"Will he be alright, doctor?"

The Doctor nodded his head. "Yes, he will be Supreme Commander. It's been a week or so since the accident and he's doing quite well." Again the doctor looked at the fallen comrade. "I still don't know 'Otoree survived that plasma shot to the head, but-"

"But what?"

"I think our Lord is watching over you and your brother, Supreme Commander 'Erentaree."

Zek smiled; the doctor was none the wiser on his (not so smart) attempt to kill his own brother. Nodding a thanks he walked over to the comatose Sala, and the doctor left. He looked odd, hooked up to all those machines, his chest rising and falling with each breath he took.

A sense of regret stirred in his heart, and soon the entire feeling engulfed him. What if his brother never woke up? What if he killed his own flesh and blood? What if-

Throwing the thoughts out of his head, he grabbed a nearby blank paper and kohl, and began to draw. He needed to get his mind off of Sala.

The drawings were simple at first...mostly sketches of Sala, then the Unngoy who were asleep in their methane chambers. He drew Aa and Un, who were chatting in their native tongue, picking at their food.

Then he drew Utethy. Utethy smiling, Utethy screaming, Utethy crying, Utethy laughing.

Sighing, he looked at his pictures and remember all the pain he caused her. Did she need to be brutalized like that?

Yes. She was human. All humans are scum! And she was his bride.

Did he really want to continue that charade? The girl hated him, and according to Sangheili marital law, both parties must be in love, no forced mating, no abuse towards one another, and nothing but respect. He broke those laws, and decided he could have her when he wanted.

_No forced mating, _Zek snorted. _Can I be more hateful? _

Sala's breathing was as steady as ever, after two weeks. What if Utethy found them again? How could he explain what he did to his brother? Well, she saw him shoot the younger Sangheili, so she'd be thrilled to see him alive. Probably stay with him as he slept. As Zek touched his brother's warm hand, he wondered how Sala was able to win the heart of his-

Wait...he knew how to win over the human girl.

Sala was kind and gentle to her..._he_ was ignorant of her wants and needs and dominating. Zek's eyes lit up like flashlights.

_THAT'S IT!! _

That's how he could have her! The next time he'd see her, he'd be as kind and courteous as Sala and the others were! Possibly more!

Feeling quite proud of himself, he vowed to make himself a better person. Someone who Utethy would _have_ to feel for!

The idea was perfect. When the girl saw his transformation, she'll come running back to him.

Behind Zek, Sala stirred. A native insect to Halo landed on his hand, and was drinking his blood. At first it was a tiny prick, then the feel of his blood being sucked out of him sent him gasping in pain. But he didn't bolt upright out of bed; he saw Zek mumbling to himself.

The Supreme Commander turned and faced Sala, a wicked smirk on his face.

"Sala, dear brother of mine." he lowered his face near Sala's. "You may have one my bride's heart...and because of that I despise you, but that doesn't mean I do no respect you for your kindness towards her." Zek wrapped his fingers around Sala's throat and smiled. "Dying while asleep, is a gift so many are denied. My gift...to you."

Sala responded by butting his brother's head so hard that Zek fell back in pain. Grunting he steadied himself on the ground, then it hit him (literally) that Sala had woken from his coma.

"Sala...my brother?"

Sala's eyes flashed in anger, he was on the ground level with Zek, pinning him down with his weight. Zek then noticed that in Sala's right hand was a very large rock. He brought it down on his head.

"WHERE'S UTETHY?!" Smash! "WHERE IS SHE?!"

"I don't know...where she is..." Zek gasped out.

"BULLSHIT!!" Sala was enraged. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?! WHERE IS SHE?!"

"WO-HOH!"

Sala looked up and saw several guns pointed at him. Aa and Un were in the front, Yayoi, Ai, Yuu and Kei in the back. Aa stepped forward. "Have a nice wake up, Excellency?"

"Where. Is. Utethy?"

"Oh, uh...His Excellency's bride..." Yayoi started. "She's...not here."

"THEN WERE IS SHE?!"

"Nowhere special," Zek mumbled below him. "That Human wearing the special armor took her somewhere else. Probably somewhere safe. But don't worry...I promised her I'll see her again. And I also promised to kill her when I do."

"BASTARD!" Sala roared as he raised the rock to crush his brother's head, but he never got the chance. Un wacked him downside the head with a plasma rifle, sending him unconscious." Sala slumped down on top of Zek, and he pushed the wounded Sangheili off of him. Everyone stared at the female Kig-Yar.

"What?" she asked innocently. "'Otoree was attacking His Excellency, the Supreme Commander, and I had to protect him! So...wack!" She raised her hand with the gun for emphasis on the last word. "I...hope I didn't kill him"

"I think you did, Sister." Aa scratched his head.

"What's going on here?!" The doctor who had previously met with Zek walked into the tent, shocked at the apalling scene.

At once the small Grunts began to talk at once, jabbering their point of view on what they had just seen. The Sangheili doctor stopped them with a wave of his hand.

"Now..all three of you...calm down and tell me what happened."

Kei bounced. "We heard shouts coming outside our methane chambers and we ran to see what was the matter and we took our guns-"

Yuu continued. "-and we see His Excellency, the Supreme Commander on the ground with His Excellency's brother, 'Otoree on top of him and he had a rock in his hand and he was going to kill him-"

Ai finished. "-and he was ranting and raving and screaming and he threatened to kill us all if he didn't find Mama then he starts to curse us off and Un wacked him with her gun and then you came in! Whew!"

The doctor said nothing but looked at the three youngling Grunts with confusion. Turning to Aa, he asked. "All right...what really happened?"

"HEY!" they shouted angrily.

Aa just shrugged. "What they said."

"Get 'Otoree back on the bed. Everyone leave...I have to make sure this harlot of a Kig-Yar didn't cause him any brain damage!"

Un growled as Aa dragged her out.

Rubbing his head, Zek stood and was about to also walk out when the doctor put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright, Excellency? Who is this human that your troops speak of?"

Zek thought hard about his answer. "It's...no one."

"It's a female? And you've claimed her? Supreme Commander...I didn't you had such feelings for a human-" the doctor was face to face with a plasma rifle and he was silenced.

"You will be lucky to not die in the next few seconds." Zek growled. "I have not claimed the Human...I was merely cordial to her. It's a rumor going around my troops that she is my bride."

"But-"

"Silence...or you will never see your mate again. And I know you want to return to Seran-V as quickly as possible, yes?"

The doctor nodded.

"I, too, wish to return to our home planet as well. And you shall, unless you breath a word about this rumor. Then you will be returned to our planet in a box."

With that Zek stormed past the shaking doctor to a secluded part of the Covenant camp. Folding his arms he gazed at the sky, admiring the beauty of the ringworld.

"Utethy..." he breathed. "Where are you?"

* * *

Okay, I have a perfectly good excuse for this. My computer shut down and was misbehaving, I had some cases of writer's block, and I had to get ready for summer camp and driver's test. Then I had to have an orgams watching the Halo 3 E3.

Shit.


	21. NotSo Family Vacation

_"Welcome to paradise"_

_--Green Day_

* * *

**The Hanging Garden**

Back again, yes I am. Get ready for some new stuff!

You'll also notice here that the Chief is developing an attachment to Utethy, but it's anything but romantic. It's more like an owner to a hyperactive puppy or a father to a daughter.

Oh, and for anyone who believed Utethy to be a Mary-Sue, read _Ghosts of Onyx. _Xytan 'Jar Wattinree puts Utethy to shame when it comes to "Mary Sue-ness." Don't believe me? Read the book.

PS: If Utethy ever had a voice actress, the one I'd pick in a heartbeat would be Mae Whitman (Katara from _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, Yuffie Kisaragi,_ Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus_). Her voice is _perfect_!!

* * *

**Chapter 21 :: Not-So Family Vacation **

Utethy held the Master Chief's waist as she watched the ripples of water from under the plane. She smiled as she watched small fish almost race the Pelican and jump out of the water.

"Where are we going again?"

"Oh, you'll like it. A nice place, very tropical, an island to be exact."

"All right!" she exclaimed, breathing in the familiar scent of salt water and sand. "We're on a vacation!"

"Actually, dear Utethy, we're not on an official vacation." Cortana quipped, the briefed her further. "The Covenant believe that what they call 'The Silent Cartographer' is somewhere under this island. The Cartographer is a map room that will lead us to Halo's Control Center. The island has multiple structures and installations. One of them contains the map room."

"Sounds interesting. I hope we get there in time, actually." Utethy's eyes lit up as soon as she saw the familiar looking beach...covered with Covenant forces. She gulped nervously.

"We're approaching the LZ! It's gonna be hot. Ge set to come out swinging...TOUCHDOWN!" the Pelican hit the beach and several aliens surrounded them. "Hit it, Marines!"

"GO GO GO!!"

They jumped out of the Pelican and she tumbled face first into the sand. Spitting it out she dove for the plasma pistol lying on the ground, almost awaiting to be picked up. Crawling like she was on Normandy, she inconspicuously hid behind the nearest large rock, charged it until her hand burned and hit an Elite's head. Needless to say, the shields went down but the anger went up.

He whipped his head around to see where the imbecile who dared fire at him and found Utethy, peering from behind the rock and nervously wiggling her fingers in a greeting. The Elite roared and charged, ready to spill blood.

Utethy, of course, proceeded to scream like a banshee in fear and madly fire at the oncoming Elite. He dropped dead not three feet away from her.

Sighing, thankful that she was still alive, she jogged over to rejoin the Master Chief, who was also thankful she was alive.

A Sergeant activated his comlink. "Area secured. All hostiles have been eliminated."

A female voice responded. _"Affirmative. Echo319 inbound. Did somebody order a Warthog?" _She added the last part cheerfully. Utethy was confused, someone ordered a pig? The Marines, however, were overjoyed.

"I didn't know you made house calls!"

"Music to my ears, Foe Hammer!"

Foe Hammer sounded a bit smug to the compliments. "Well, you know our motto: 'We Deliver'." And she flew away.

Utethy saw that "Warthog" actually meant "Jeep", and she happily ran towards it. "OOOH! I WANNA DRIVE!"

"No, get in the back." The Master Chief jerked a thumb to the back, where a turrent was. "Just stay there and make yourself unnoticeable."

"DRIVE BY! DRIVE BY! COME ON CHIEF!" She spastically picked up a pistol and aimed it at a rock.

"Back."

"Front."

"Back."

"Front."

"JUST GET IN THE GODDAMN WARTHOG YOU TWO!!" Cortana snapped in frustration. "Chief, driver's seat. Utethy, shotgun. Just do it."

Shrugging, Utethy comfortable placed herself in the rather large frontseat of the Warthog. Curiously she looked for seatbelts and felt a bit of panic when she found none. What if she or anyone else felt out or got into a bad...Jeep accident? She didn't want to think of how hard her face would hit the dashboard if they hit a Hunter. To soothe herself, she asked a rather dumb question.

"Does this think have a radio?"

John slowly turned his head to look at her, behind his visor a look of complete "Why is she asking me that stupid question?". He continued to stare at her stupefied, then started the Warthog up.

"Okay. Let's move out. Let's go find the map room that will show us the location of Halo's control room." Cortana said.

The Chief began to drive off of the beach, a Marine in the turrent behind them. Utethy enjoyed the wind in her face and if she pretended hard enough, they really were taking a drive at the beach.

She still held the pistol in her hand, but the Master Chief paid more attention to driving that what deadly weapon she wasn't supposed to have. In John's HUD, he spied several red blobs coming closer, and he braced himself quietly.

Utethy, on the other hand, gave a happy shriek when she saw them. "DRIIIIIIIVE BYYYYYYY!!"

"Oh fuck me..."

In mad glee she began to shoot the nearest Grunt off his feet, then a Jackal who wasn't paying attention got shot in the head. Cursing himself for not paying attention, he allowed the Marine in back to open fire on all Covenant troops, and ran over a good few of them.

Utethy pouted when her gun ran out of bullets, but snapped out of it pretty quickly when the Warthog skidded sideways into a tree and she fell out, hitting her head against a tree. She groaned as her stitched split open, tears of pain slowly gathering in her eyes. Utethy looked up from the ground and was face to face with a dead Minor Domo Sangheili. Her mouth opened in a scream, but realized that he was quite harmless. Felling curious, she grabbed a stick and began to poke at it.

"UTETHY!"

The girl looked up and saw that a little ways away the Master Chief sat in the Warthog, beckoning her over. "Come over here!"

"No! You come over here!"

"What're you doing?" He asked, looking at the stick in her hand.

"Uh, nothing." Then, as if she thought John were an idiot, she continued to poke at the dead Elite.

"UTETHY! Stop doing that! That's disgusting!"

"If I take his armor off and inspect his goodies, that's disgusting. But this isn't. I'm poking him."

"Oh God, Chief!" The Marine in the back laughed. "She's really putting up a fight. Not to mention if she keeps this up she's-"

"In huge trouble." Cortana finished.

John had grown tired of waiting for her and stomped over. She smiled and handed him the stick. He shook his head.

"Come on Chief! It's fun."

"If I do this, will you come back with me?"

"Yes."

Sighing in frustration, he grabbed the stick and jabbed the Elite a few times unemotionally before grabbing her by the arm, careful not to op a bone out of its socket. He had to admit, she was really stubborn and too inquisitive for her own good. He'll punish her by having her sit in the Warthog while she watches him kick Covenant ass.

"Okay, now that _that _scenario is over, I'll check where the map room is...there! In the cliff wall! I'll bet the Silent Cartographer is in that facility." Cortana said.

Hitting the gas the Master Chief ran the Warthog up the hill, and they could clearly see an entrance in the cliff wall...overrun by Covenant hordes. Luckily, the Warthog made quick work of the annoyances, and Utethy gave small goodbye waves to the unlucky road kill.

Once the outside had been run over and shot at, the Master Chief jumped out and headed inside of it. He looked back and sternly reminded her to stay outside, and had the poor Marine watch her.

Helpless, she watched as John pushed his way into the building. Folding her arms, bored, she spied something in the back of the Warthog; things she recognized from war books as MREs. Some things never change.

"Hey, can you pass me that thing please?" she asked innocently. Shrugging the marine kindly gave it to her and she examined the things inside.

_Hmmm, crap, crap, crap, peaches? Yum. But I'm not in the mood-hey, what're these? _Utethy pulled out a small container, and looked at it curiously.

"Those are Stim-Packs, little lady." said the Marine behind her. "Those things are really strong, I wouldn't recommend taking them unless you're sleepy. And hey, aren't you that girl who was a POW by an Elite? Weren't you molested or something?"

"Yeah, kinda. But nothing extreme happened."

"That's not what I heard."

"Then what did you hear?"

"Heh..." he smirked. "Nothing. I really wouldn't recommend taking those, kiddo. They really wake you up."

She nodded an okay, but they looked tempting. Taking one out she inspected the pill, and was about to put it in her mouth when-

"NO!"

A strong, hand grabbed hers and pried it open. The Master Chief sighed as he saw that it was still there. Placing the items back, he glared at her from under her visor. "If you took one of those you'd be bouncing off the walls. And I can't have that."

"So what happened, Chief?" she looked behind him.

"They locked the doors." he jumped into the Warthog. "Cortana's calling for back-up right about-"

"Now." Cortana then switched to the radio. _"Cortana to Keyes."_

The Captain's voice responded. _"Go ahead, Cortana. Have you found the control center?" _

She sighed. _"Negative, Captain. The Covenant have impeded our progress. We can't proceed unless we can disable this installation's security system." _

Keyes acknowledged her with a nod that was unseen, but felt through his words. "_Understood. We're still en route to the objective. I may be out of contact when we get there. Here are your orders: use any means necessary to force your way into the facility and find Halo's control center. We have to get to the center before the Covenant. Failure, people, is not an option." _

Another voice buzzed through, it was Foehammer. _"Echo419 to ground teams! I'll stay on station and keep an eye out for Covenant bogies." _

"_Second squad! Ready to roll! As soon as everyone is topside." _A voice called out from the other line.

"_LZ looks secure sir, nothing moving." _Yet another. Utethy got a sickening nausea in her stomach, as if she was sensing something bad was going to happen.

"_Good. Oh, and do you still have that girl with you?" _Keyes said.

"_Yes, we do. She's being good, for the most part." _

"_Keep her safe, no matter what happens." _His voice softened, as if he were remembering someone close to him. _"Chief, that is your top priority; make sure that girl of yours never comes to harm. And whatever happens...don't let her go. If...you don't want to cry. Keyes out." _

The comlink shut off quickly, which left both AI and SPARTAN in confusion. Not letting her come to harm was an obvious one, but, those last words. What did they mean? Utethy looked to her right, and admired the scenery. She heard what he said, and didn't pay any mind to it's hidden meaning.

Cortana's "brow" furrowed. Maybe Keyes was concerned for the poor girl's welfare and wanted them to watch out for her, and he meant "never let her out of your sight if you don't want to see her dead and cry". Or maybe something more cryptic than that.

"We need to find the security override and get that door open." she said unemotionally. Later she'll try to decipher Keyes's final words about the girl.

"Hey, are we going or what?" Utethy finally looked at the Master Chief, who was snapped out of his own analysis of what Keyes said. He started the Warthog up, and drove along the sides of the island. Utethy liked the smell of the ocean, and the lovely forests made it look even better, that is, until they found _an entire herd _of alien troops almost waiting for them.

_Yay for cars! I can't wait to get my own_. Utethy smiled; these "jeeps" were really handy, especially during these sort of situations. She really wanted to drive this thing, but she didn't have a licence or anything.

"It looks like there's a path leading into the interior of the island." Cortana noted. "We should get out and explore it on foot."

John left the Warthog against a cliff and ran against what seemed like never-ending hordes of Grunts, Jackals, and Elites. She couldn't let John do this alone! So jumped out and followed him, picking up a plasma rifle that was left by a dead Elite.

She crept up next to him, and he was startled by her appearance near him. "Why do you follow me around? You know I work alone."

"Bonnie and Clyde didn't work alone. Pumpkin and Honey Bunny didn't work alone. Vincent and Jules didn't work alone." she smiled.

"I have no idea who those people are, and I have very little interest in doing so. But since you're this far, I'll let you come."

"You always did, Chief."

"I honestly don't know why I-"

He never finished, as he grabbed her by the shirt and practically threw her behind a rock. The Master Chief saw Grunts waddle into his vison and the first thing they aimed at was Utethy. He didn't want the punky little brat to get hurt.

Peeking from behind her rock,she saw the Chief blow holes through Elites and Grunts alike. That is, until she saw he was running out of ammo.

"TRY WACKING IT!!"

"BE QUIET!"

"She's only trying to help, Chief. And she's right; try wacking it." Cortana held back snickers.

"You be quiet as well, you hear me?"

"Well she's right! Wack 'em!"

A sigh. "Fine."

As if on cue, an Elite popped out of nowhere as he was reloading, giving the Chief a try at nailing it with the butt of his gun. It worked like a charm, and Utethy got a huge kick out of it. As always.

"Is it okay for me to come out, Chief?"

"Yes. Come out now."

Utethy carefully snuck out, clutching her plasma rifle. In a brief moment of "I wanna annoy John", she skipped playfully to his side, hugging him as she arrived next to him.

"I wuv you."

"That's really unnecessary. And kind of disturbing. Let's go." Beneath his visor John was rolling his eyes. My God, she was a pain. But she was at least cute.

"Okay, we're getting close. Just follow me and don't get in any trouble." He gently grabbed her shoulder and tugged her along.

She ran ahead of the Chief, much to his dismay; if she got shot at, he was screwed. To his relief, Utethy gasped and ran back to him.

"J-John! Lekgolo!" If he had any sleeves, she'd be tugging at them. But the Master Chief just looked at her.

"What are they again?"

Utethy sighed. "Hunters."

"Oh. Now I remember."

She watched as John grabbed some ammo and took aim. "You're going to fight them by yourself?! What the hell?"

"I've been with them before. I know what I'm doing." He waved to hush her, and she did. She was quiet from fear of yet another incident on the grounds of the Truth and Reconciliation. That time...the feeling that enveloped her before she blacked out. It felt so familiar. Like she was reliving a dream she had forgotten long ago.

She stopped and glanced to her left. There the Warthog stood as if saying "Hey, you coming or what?". She got one of her brilliant ideas, and ran to it.

The Master Chief didn't notice her gone, he was too busy watching the two Hunters. They were very sturdy beasts, and they were too busy guarding...whatever they were guarding to notice him. The Chief aimed his pistol to the delicate orange back of one of them...prepared to fire.

But was distracted by the sound of something coming up the hill they arrived through. The Warthog flew by at speeds no one should ever go at, drove past him and proceeded to fly into the courtyard the Hunters (now startled) waited in. He watched with a gaping jaw as the stupid-as-fuck driver dodged the plasma cannons and ran them over with expert skill. Once orange blood had stained both the Jeep and, well, everything...the one and only Balamiya Utethy jumped out and inspected the damage.

"Wow. These things hit harder than I expected. I mean, look at this damage!" She gestured to the banged up and bloodied front of the Warthog. "My God...I do good for a driver who doesn't have a licence, eh?"

John was beside himself with anger. Not because of the damage, but because Utethy would do such a foolish thing–but she was just a kid. He was confused by her actions.

"Why did you do that?"

"I saved you life!"

"My life didn't need saving," he growled. "I wasn't in any danger. I was fine where I was. You didn't need to help, or do anything at all."

"Oh John," she smiled. "It's part of the Prince's Code."

Cortana snorted. "What the hell is that?"

"Why, a Code that I made up a long, long time ago." She smile became larger and her eyes became glossy with a memory. "One of the most important rules is, 'A Prince must always protect and defend the ones they love, must always be ready to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, and to always, _always_, save them from any danger they encounter'. So you see? Just as you are bound by a code, I am blood soaked and honor bound."

He wanted to smack her. He wanted to beat her with a lead pipe. He wanted to shake her so hard sense and logic would _have _to be planted in. But he didn't. He instead took deep breaths and counted to the highest number before snapping.

"Balamiya Utethy...you act as if you've been in battle after battle after battle. You act as if you know the art of war like it's a goddamn game." John spat. "But you haven't. I've been doing this for _twenty-seven years_. You've been at this for a week or two. How _dare you _even speak to me like you know more than I do about war?"

Cortana and Utethy were now scared of him. The former was silent and waited for the Master Chief to slap her silly, the former balled her fists and tried to stop shaking. The girl looked at him as a puppy would look as if scolded. The AI wanted to scold the her as well, but was afraid that she'd set the SPARTAN off to the point that he'd do something horrendous to the girl. So in her fear for Utethy's safety she blurted out:

"That girl is out of control! Spank that kid!"

Whatever anger the Master Chief had vanished. He looked at the girl and quickly decided that, even though it was a good method of discipline, it wasn't one that either would feel any dignity after.

Utethy's eyes widened and she tried not to picture that scenario happening. It would be extremely demeaning, and John can't afford to lose respect or not be taken seriously after words.

So despite Cortana's sudden burst of anxious wording, John decided that the best way was to either beat with a lead pipe or cuff her across the face. Well, a lead pipe would break a bone or injure her pretty well, so he smacked her across the face.

Utethy rubbed her now red cheek, and shrugged. It was a very half-hearted slap, but it still hurt like a bitch.

Shaking his head he motioned them to continue from the courtyard to the other side. Utethy hung her head in a submissive gesture, but regained her composure and skipped across the courtyard to the other grassy hill, alerting all Covenant troops of their presence.

"Come on, Chief! Take the hill!"

A Jackal snickered as it remembered saying almost the exact same words to a Grunt not a week before.

"Utethy, I honestly don't think you should yell at me. Do you know how many bogies are here?"

The Kig-Yar furrowed its brow; he heard that name before. He and his fellow comrades were talking about human girl who was captured by the Supreme Commander's troops and was sexually tortured. Rumor's going around that the Supreme Commander even fell in love with her.

He didn't have time to ponder the thought anymore, as he was shot in the back by an amateur shooter a couple hundred times. He stiffened and fell face down. Utethy jumped in the air victoriously.

"Hah!" She exclaimed. "See Chief? I _can_ shoot a battle rifle really well! Can I have it?"

"Let her have it, Chief." Cortana said, finally exasperated from the girl's energy.

"No. _You_ can say it because _you're_ not the one whose possibly going to get shot if she _does_ handle one. So the answer is, until I _really_ think she's mature enough," He grabbed the battle rifle out of her hands. "No."

"Can I have a plasma pistol?"

"Yes. Because it's safer and less likely to injure someone."

_Oh, thanks Chief. I really appreciate this._ Utethy looked down at the dinky gun and resigned herself to hiding behind a rock...again. John nodded in gratitude as she folded her legs behind the large boulder. After all, her safety was what mattered. Keyes wanted her to be safe.

The sounds if fighting put her on edge, mainly because some jerk-off Sangheili or Kig-Yar could find her and beat her with a rock until she dies. Her fears were confirmed as she saw an Unggoy curiously poke at her.

"What do you want, little guy?"

The Grunt was unarmed, strange, but better than it having a plasma...anything. "Yeth, um...you're da girl who wath abuthed by the Thupreme Commander, am I correct?"

She nodded. "Yes, but nothing happened."

"Dat's not what I hurd." He said. "Rumorths are going around dat you loved him. Did you?"

"Fuck no. He tried to rape me every chance he got."

"Well, he loved you. Another rumor dat is going around ith that he loved you, did he?"

"In his own twisted way, yes. Anything else?"

"No," he pulled out a plasma pistol. "Dat's all I wanted to know. Thankths for the information, human. You can die now."

"Wait!" she held her hands up. "Why do you need all this?"

"Becauths I wanted to know. And you told me everything. So I can now clear da rumorths." He smiled. "Thankths again."

"No problem."

With lightening fast reflexes she yanked the breather out of the Unggoy's mouth. Her heart lurched as she heard him gasp and gag on the air, clutching his throat. In regret and sorrow she ran from the dying Grunt and into John's armor, crying. That little guy was so cute! He even had a lisp, which was rare amongst the Grunt race. And she killed him.

"Utethy? What's wrong?"

"I-I-I...I killed a little Grunt!" she sobbed. "He was so cute, too! Chief, he was going to kill me so...so is my murder justified?"

Johns sighed. "Utethy, there is no such thing as murder when if comes to war, okay? That Grunt was about to kill you? Then it was indeed justified. Come on, I cleared this area, so we can proceed into the next. Oh, and take this rifle with you."

John handed her a plasma rifle, hoping that would cheer her up a bit. He saw a ghost of a smile cross her lips. It was better than nothing.

She followed him onto a cliff, admired the view for a few seconds, trying to stall herself from actually hurting those cute little Grunts over there-

"WAOHHH!"

"Not again!"

"AYEEEEE!"

"Mother..."

The sounds of those innocent Unngoy getting their brains blown out of their skull broke her heart to pieces. She wanted to stare at the island's sands and ocean for eternity, and just forget the Human-Covenant war. Life was so easy back then...in the 21st Century.

"Hey, Utethy? You wanna shoot something or what?"

Snapping out of her peace-loving reverie, she smiled and ran to John's side, plasma rifle blaring like a stereo shooting down every surviving Grunt that lay in their path.

"YEE-HAWH!" She screeched. "Let's kill something else!"

"Alright-y then, Miss Balamiya. Step this way into the killing gallery and test your luck!" Cortana sold the prospect pretty well, as she was trying to give the girl moral support and take her mind off the "murder" of the Grunt. "Winner gets a nice, juicy Battle Rifle! And if she doesn't scream like a banshee on acid, she can _dual-wield _a plasma rifle _and _a needler! Doesn't that sound great?!"

Utethy nodded her head vigorously. The AI sounded so much like a mother or older sister trying to sell a rather bad idea as a good one to a little ignorant child. It worked. Utethy almost ran into the entrance in the cliff wall without thinking before she was yanked on her collar.

"Cortana, I will kill you."

"I know, I know. But she's cute, eh?"

"God. Damn. You."

"Utethy!" He pulled her closer. "Stick close to me, alright?"

"Yes Chief."

"Okay. Let's go."

The trip was fairly short, and Utethy looked at the glyphs on the walls with much interest, but was pulled by her sleeve to go into the next room. She stopped short and closed her eyes. Lekgolo were near. Not even 20 feet away even.

"John!" she hissed.

"Yes?" he whispered back.

"Hunters close by. Give me your pistol...we can work together on this." She winked and whispered her plan. Liking it he handed her a gun and she hid between two large Covenant crates...or whatever else they were called.

Nodding to her, he let loose a stream of bullet from the battle rifle. The Lekgolo charged and she could feel/hear the annoyed growl that came from it. He ran backwards so the giant creature would follow, thus leaving the vulnerable back open to her.

It worked.

With three bullets the Lekgolo was dead, leaving its mate in a state of sorrow and angst filled vengeance. Utethy's heart went out for the Hunter; they mated for life and their bonds were unbreakable. But Zek had said that when one kills the mate to a Lekgolo, if the mate's murderer is still alive and cannot be found, their hearts break and they give up the will to life. She would reunite this couple in the afterlife...she was sure of it.

Taking quick aim she killed the other Hunter with tears in her eyes. Loneliness...was a hell no one could ever comprehend. No one could understand the years of solitude-

"Utethy...are you alright?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright. Let's go."

She tunred around and looked at the fallen Hunters. "Say, John...did you know that these are gentle giants? That they're creative and intelligent? That...that Dios loves everyone? Human, Covenant and...everyone else?"

"What are you talking about? Dios is the Covenant God, from what I understand." Cortana spoke with a puzzled tone. "According to all the transmissions I've intercepted from Covenant carriers, Dios is wrathful and wishes to bring all ruin to Humanity and those who do not believe in his Holy Word. Here's a snippet for you; 'Your destruction is the will of the Holy Prince Dios, and we are his instrument.'. That sounds like an omnibenevolent god to you?"

She stayed silent and followed them into the security override. Staring at the glowing panel with interest.

"Use the holopanel to shut down the security system." Cortana said. The Master Chief shut it down, and Utethy looked around the room, as if she knew what this place held.

"You okay?" Cortana asked.

"Yeah..I'm fine." She mumbled. "It's just that...this place seems like the ones I've seen in my dreams and, well.."

"Let's cut the philosophy and start moving, alright? Once we get back to the map room we can-"

"Oh, Christ! Does this mean we have to walk all the way back to the locked door? Aw crap! Can't we fly or something?"

"I wish," John grumbled. "But we can't. Besides, walking's good for the body."

Shrugging she followed him out of the room, taking one quick glance back to examine it, then continued on their way.

The buzzing of the radio startled them.

"_MAYDAY MAYDAY! Dropship Bravo-22 is taking enemy fire! Repeat! We are under heavy fire and losing altitude!" _

"_Understood." We're on our way."_ Cortana's voice was cool as a cucumber. "You still have that pistol, Utethy?"

"Yes."

"You're going to need it."

"Oh like right now?"

"Yes like right-CRAP!"

Her body stiffening against the wall (because the Chief shoved her into a corner) she saw two Ultra Sangheili almost beat the shit out of the Spartan, and was tempted to do something about it. John was like a father to her; an awkward father who knew more about war than child care, but she cared about him so much.

"_Ycnellecxe, yeh?_" She grumbled out loud. The Elites stopped in their tracks and peered over at Utethy, smudged in her little nook waving. _"Os snamuh etah uoy yhw em ot nailpxe uoy nac?." _She batted her eyes playfully, hoping her question would be answered. The two Ultras looked at each other, shrugged, then fired in her position.

_Well, so much for the innocent question. _She curled up into a little ball and began screaming.

"_NOITSEUQ ELPMIS A SAW DEKSA I LLA!!" _she shrieked as one of the Ultras picked her up by her hair and slammed her into the wall. "_Su etah uoy od yhw_?"

"_Mucs lla era uoy esuaceb." _He didn't waste anytime pointing the plasma rifle to her head and was prepared to pull the trigger, when the human girl's hands gently caressed his forearm. Confused, he was about to smack her upside the head with his gun when he was suddenly distracted by the sound of bullets embedding themselves in his comrade. His head snapped to the side, where his partner lay dead. Enraged he felt like he should take his anger out of the human in his hands, when the man in the special green armor level his rifle to his head. Utethy stopped him by holding up her hand, an odd look in her eye. She then faced the Elite that held her.

"Why...why are you doing this?" She asked.

"Your destruction is the will of the Holy Prince and-"

She shook her head and calmly spoke. "What did we do to you? What offense have we committed?"

The Elite cocked his head. "Aren't you afraid of me?"

"Yes and no."

The Elite was silent, the put the plasma rifle to her head and watched for any reaction. There was none. He tightened his hold on her neck and he watched her eyes become softer. He didn't like this human. She wasn't afraid of him, she just stared at him with tender sympathetic eyes. He hated being stared at. Hated it.

"Human mind games, eh?" He dropped his gun and moved his other hand to her neck, where he began to strangle her. She felt her windpipe completely close from the alien's tightened hands, and she almost completely stopped breathing. In her blurry vision she saw John finally have enough and shot the Elite dead.

Utethy fell to the floor, gasping for breath like a fish out of water. She coughed and hacked like there was no tomorrow.

"Okay. That is the _last time _I will ever allow you to fraternize with the enemy. It's far too dangerous" John patted her on the back awkwardly trying to get as much air in a physically possible. He never felt more confused and comfortable than with her. He didn't know why, but he felt sort of well, at peace when with her. Unless, that is, she was getting herself into trouble.

"O-okay...I feel be-better now...Chief." She hacked a few times, then nodded and stood. She breathed in deeply to restore some of her brain power, and followed John through the door and up the ramp that they originally entered from. The smell of the ocean calmed her considerably, and she took solace in the Chief's presence.

"Chief," Cortana interrupted the moment. "Bravo-22 was bringing us some heavy weapons. After I saw that we were up against Hunters, I thought you could use them."

"That came a bit late, eh?" Utethy smirked.

"Shut it brat. Anyway, let's move down to the beach and keep an eye out for any cargo we can salvage."

"Excellent idea, but" He snatched the pistol from Utethy's hands and aimed at a cliff not to far away. "We have some unwanted company."

Utethy stood and watched him blast the hell out of Jackals and a few Grunts, hearing their squawks and squeals of pain. After a few moments have passed, he retraced their path from where they came from. He stopped suddenly and turned to her.

"Quick question, Miss Utethy." Came Cortana's naturally smart voice. "Why is it that you're so idealistic? Why do you have to be 'strong and noble' like you say? And why if God's green Earth do you want to be a Prince? That's so fairy tale...ish."

"Wait. How do you know all that?" she didn't remember telling either of them about her past.

"You know those newspaper articles about you? Well, I read them and I picked up some really obnoxious tidbits about you. Did you know they made a website dedicated to you? A lot of people really miss you, Utethy. They really do."

"I bet...so anyway um, how do I put this?"

"Just, tell us what you know." Cortana said smoothly.

"Well, a long time ago, when I was eight years old...me and my parents were in a car accident. I was the only survivor. It was rainy and a truck slammed into us by accident. Hmmm." She hadn't thought about that day in so long. "I remember that we were on a bridge and I fell into the muddy river. I saw my parents be consumed with fire, and I...I remember being so helpless and alone. Silence always bothered me for a long time, and that day really hurt me. What's strange is that, I feel like I experience a much larger tragedy than that, odd eh?"

She smiled sadly. Then continued.

"I remember...my prince holding me, comforting me. He told me, 'little one, who bears much sorrow. You are too young to experience a tragedy such a this.' I asked him who he was, and he just said that I'd know soon enough, that he was always with me, and that I was never alone. Then he...he gave me my ring."

She held up her beautiful rose ring to show them. "He said that I must live a strong and noble life if I wanted to see him again. And like an illusion...he was gone. Like that." she snapped her fingers for emphasis.

The trio said nothing for a while, and Utethy had to shuffle her feet in order to keep herself from going insane from the silence. Finally, Cortana spoke.

"I would..._love_, to live in your little, idealistic world for a day. A. Day. Nothing would get done, and I'd be having a jolly good time daydreaming about crap like that. I always thought of you as a romantic, but my god. That was just...christ!"

"So you don't believe me?"

"Well, I do and I don't. That was really overly fairy tale like and monomyth-y and extremely girly."

"I believe her." John shrugged a little bit. "A part of me says that it's really crazy and stupid, the other part of me says it's cute and I believe her."

"Should I shut off the comlink so you and little miss Prince Charming wanna-be can make out and talk about fuzzy caterpillars?" she snorted. AI's don't believe in crazy made up stories about Princes on white horses and beautiful castles and other little girl nonsense. She was an AI, not a Fairy Godmother!

"How about a wish, Princess? You want a wish? I'll turn you into a sane person! How's that?" She sarcastically spat out.

"Cortana, calm down."

"YOU CALM DOWN! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE ACTUALLY BUYING THIS CRAP!!"

"Okies, can we, uh...go now?" Utethy said sheepishly. She really wanted Cortana to shut up about this. It was making her feel stupid and she hated that feeling.

"Fine. Let's go. But no more 'Prince' crap, okay?" the AI huffed.

"No guarantees. Sorry."

John shrugged as they trekked their way back up the hill that they arrived from. Utethy looked around and threw a rock to make sure there was no one. Happy she sighed and enjoyed the walk back.

"Looks like nobody's here guys." She said. Running ahead to make sure that the coast was clear she waved to assure that it was. That is, until a Covenant dropship came and dumped a crap load of troops down. "Never mind."

John and Utethy hid behind a large boulder and watched as Jackals exited the dropship and explore their surroundings. Utethy saw a Kig-Yar drop its shield and sniff the grass, then announcing to its fellow Jackals that a girl was near. Well, they did have amazing smell. She heard them laugh in their harsh, birdlike voices. Almost insulted by their disrespect, she thoughtlessly shot the Kig-Yar that smelled the grass. She showed _them_.

They kept their cover, and together they polished off Jackals. When they were all dead, they made their way across the courtyard where the Warthog and the two Hunters lay dead. The Chief jumped in the driver's seat, Utethy in the passenger's. The Marine had gotten out and waited for them on the beach. They continued through the familiar setting, and everything seemed so tranquil. No Covenant in sight and the ocean breeze blew across Utethy's short hair. Her throat had healed a little bit, and the company of two other human beings made her feel a lot better.

"Chief! Look! A pelican! Surely there will someone to help us!" She pointed excitedly to the human dropship."

"I don't think anybody's gonna help us, little lady." The Marine then pointed to the dead bodies of other soldiers near it, along with a Warthog and ammo. Sadly she looked at them, then to the Marine in the gunner seat. "Do you fear, friend?"

"Yeah..." he got out and loaded himself up with as many guns as possible. "Hell, I'm drop dead scared of this place." He shot a bullet to make sure it worked. "I really want to get home in one piece-hey."

Utethy had gotten out of the Warthog and hugged the kneeling Marine against her chest. "When I was sad or afraid, Mother used to hold me ever so close to her breast so I would feel her heart beating and she'd tell me that everything was alright." Her eyes narrowed at the memory. "I loved Mother so much."

"Ooookay! Let go of me now cutie and everything will be peachy." He squirmed his way out of her arms and returned to the gunner's seat, looking at her oddly. That was creepy. Her eyes then lit up with recognition.

"This-this is Bravo-22! Isn't it?" She looked over to the Master Chief. He nodded. She grimaced almost in pain, but simply sat down again and covered her face with her hands. Death on this ring was everywhere. "We couldn't save them...why?"

John ignored her and simply drove on, Not even 20 feet away were a pair of Jackals standing idly. One was run over, the other shot to death by the Marine's gun turrent. Poor ignorant SOBs.

"Oh! HEY! I NEVER GOT YOUR NAME!!" Utethy shouted over the sound of the gun and the Warthog.

"MY NAME IS JOSE!" He shouted back. Satisfied, she nodded and returned to staring out the front window. That is, until a large bump allowed her head to meet the windshield. Growling out curses she rubbed the swollen area on her forehead and looked at the hill covered with Covenant bodies.

"Holy-CHIEF LOOK OUT!!"

"I see them, I see them."

"You drive, I shoot."

"Good idea."

A pair of Hunters awaited them at the shaft, and by the looks of it they weren't too happy. One charged, wacking the side of the Jeep with its gauntlet arm and almost sent the three passengers flying. Fumbling with the pistol she tried to aim as perfectly as she possibly could. Three bullets bounce off its head and in anger, it charged up the Plasma Cannon.

_Shitshitshitshit_

"Forget it! Let's just go into the Shaft!" Cortana was obviously in a rush to get in. They drove into the same hallway John had previously fought in and, of course, it was small. Well, it wasn't a drive in movie theater, that's for sure.

Utethy spotted an Elite who was ready to throw a nasty plasma grenade at them when she yelled out at him.

"_Uoy yeh!"_

The Sangheili looked up, dropping the not-yet-lit grenade. He was surprised that this human could speak their language.

"_Diputs er'uoy!_"

Snorting he said. _"Ti s'taht?"_

"_Uoy ta tae ll'ti...emit emos ti evig."_

Shaking his head, he was disgusted by the simplicity of this human girl. What a dumb, primitive monkey. But an Unngoy under his command looked at him in an odd way.

"You! Unggoy! Am I stupid?"

The creature nodded. "Yeah...a little bit."

It's life was ended three seconds later. As well as the Sangheili's, when a plasma grenade stuck onto him.

"Okay...is that the last of them?" Utethy looked up at John and he shrugged. "Doesn't matter I guess."

The duo jumped out and ran down the ramp, where the door was finally open. Grabbing two plasma rifles she immediately ran to the door and to the left, ignoring any warning signs. She stopped dead mid-run, and pinned herself against the wall, peering over the corner to see two Minor Domo Elites watching or transmitting something. She made a sign for "bad guys over there" and the Master Chief nodded. He held up one finger against his helmet in a "shhh" motion and carefully gripped his battle rifle. He was is kissing distance of the oblivious Elite, when he smacked the creature with the butt of the gun, breaking in its skull.

He grabbed Utethy by the arm and yanked her up the nearest ramp, entering another part of the station. A sleeping Grunt was curled in a corner, and Utethy's heart melted at the sight. Oh, how she wanted to pet it! They were precious when they slept-

The Master Chief made quick work of the Grunt as it, too, was wacked shitless.

Utethy gave him a look that said "Why did you do that?!". Shrugging he said, "Saves ammo and keeps our cover."

Shaking her head she followed him through yet another door, where a Jackal was waiting to get killed. So to try her luck, she rolled a grenade down the glass slope and watched as it bumped its heel, then explode.

Whistling innocently Utethy slid down the second ramp and tripped herself (accidentally) through a door. Landing on her face, she was picked up the scruff of her neck by the Master Chief and placed on her feet. She smiled a thanks, and ran a few feet ahead, long enough to catch a Jackal's much unwanted attention. She put the guns to good use, and shot him dead.

Smiling with a smug air, she turned the corner and was greeted by a pair of (what do you know?) Jackals who almost blew her head clear off her shoulders. Thankfully she was pushed aside by the Master Chief so he could kill them before they got any ideas.

Unfortunately, two Hunters lay ahead, and that wasn't cool. At all. She wondered how they were going to get passed them this time.

"Hey, do you have anything to stop them ?"

"There was a rocket launcher by the entrance over there," he pointed to the large Covenant crate thing. "I'm more than ready."

"Okay then!"

Utethy watched him blast the hell out of the unsuspecting pair. She gave a loud cheer as she watched them fall flat on the ground.

Giggling she felt a surge of giddiness. She skipped down the two inclines without so much as a glace ahead of her, and waited for John near the door. Utethy was disturbed by the sound of a radio.

"_Foehammer to ground teams! You got two enemy dropships coming in fast!!" _Foehammer's voice was laced with worry.

On the other line, a man sighed with frustration. _"Dammit! Okay people, we got company coming, so let's set the table. Engage enemy forces on sight!"_

Cortana spoke over the radio to the man. Her voice was cool, unlike Foehammer's. _"It'll be easier to hold them off from inside the structure. Can you get inside?" _

"_Negative! They're closing in too fast!!" _He paused quickly, drawing in an exasperated breath. _"Chief!...you have to find the Cartographer! We'll keep 'em busy as long as we possibly can." _

"_Give them hell, Marine," _Cortana said. Then, talking to both the Master Chief and Utethy, she spoke with urgency. "We'll be in one tight spot if we don't get out of here before additional reinforcements arrive. Let's find that map, for the love of God!"

"Okay, okay!" Utethy help up her hands. "We're going as fast as we can! Don't rush the magic!"

"I'll rush the goddamn magic!"

John lightly smacked the side of his head, halting any other quip Cortana was going to shout out. He gave a warning glare to hiss young companion, and they continued on their way. As they went through another set of doors and ramps, Utethy spotted a pair of Grunts absentmindedly toying with their pistols and gibbering to themselves. She was very tempted to run over and scare them shitless by screaming and running like a lunatic.

But instead she allowed John to take care of them, and then was allowed to shoot an Elite dead as long as the Master Chief monitored her aiming ("_No_ hitting the crotch? Understand?"). A few feet away from the dead Grunts, was an Elite. Wow...ironic. Hiding behind a wall, she aimed for his head (after John caught her aiming for his ass and almost wacked her) and charged the pistol until her hand felt it was on fire. That damaged the shields, but annoyed the fuck out of the Sangheili.

Shaking and roaring he almost threw a grenade, but was so angry he charged instead. John almost didn't expect that reaction, so he hit the Elite's head until it fell out of shock and fear for Utethy's life.

The Grunts in his troop were too busy screaming and running aimlessly to stop them from reaching the Cartographer.

Two black armored Sangheili guarded the room, and Utethy almost ran into one. Luckily for her, she was behind him, and John yanked her by her collar to stop the collision. He quickly hushed her and carefully hovered the tip of his pistol against the back of its neck. Three heartbeats later a steam of blue-violet blood shot out of its throat and he collapsed. Which alerted the other Elite (he was studying the glyphs on the wall) and sent him flying into a rage.

Without even thinking Utethy fumbled with a plasma grenade and flung it at the Sangheili, hoping it would activate or something. Of course, she had to forget to activate the stupid thing.

_Well, that didn't work._ She angrily smacked her head before the Master Chief shoved her out of the way and pummeled the Elite dead with bullets and angry smacks to the chest, which broke three ribs that punctured his three hearts.

Coughing blood and gasping he slumped down and collapsed.

John checked every nook and cranny before finally sighing with relief.

"There! That holopanel should activate the map!"

John gently pushed down on the glimmering panel and watched in awe as lights symbolizing different parts of Halo broke off, almost saying "Hey, is this technology cool enough for you?".

"Analyzing...Halo's control center is located there! That structure appears to be some sort of, shrine, or temple, if I interpreted this correctly. Hmmm..." she "crossed" her "arms" in thought. "Interesting...a shrine is an unlikely place to put such a significant installation..."

Utethy had wandered to the sides of the walls, staring at them. Her left hand gently grazed some of the glyphs that marked them, cocking her head in a dreamy way. She caressed the deep imprints the lovely markings had left, and seemed to read them. Her eyes were now filled with tears, and singing some kind of Gregorian chant almost unconsciously.

Her ring began to glow a holy light...and her eyes glazed over with memories that were someone else's...or maybe-

"Wait!"

John's lighting fast reflexes grabbed her left hand and watched the ring on her finger slowly give off a pulse, as if it had a heart. He suddenly remembered the incident on the grounds of the Truth and Reconciliation, how Utethy glowed the same light as her ring-

"Utethy...this ring give you power. It's what made you kill those Hunters." John paused for a second. He stared at her, and noticed that she wasn't paying any attention to what he was saying; her eyes were locked onto the glyphs and her lips still formed words. Sighing, he gently made her face him and swatted her across the face. She snapped out of her reverie and glared daggers at her companion.

"Hey! Why did you do that? I was having a good dream!" She rubbed her sore cheek and stared at her ring affectionately. Cortana, too, stared at it and begun to analyze the trinket.

"Analyzing...hmmm...that ring has a lot of spiritual power; almost to a frightening amount. It's an artifact, from almost millennia prior to now, possibly more. I presume you've been taking extremely good care of it, since it was given to you by your Prince. That ring-"

"It's called the Rose Signet."

"Hmm?" Cortana became puzzled. "What did you say?"

"This ring...it's called the Rose Signet. From now on when referring to it you are to call it by its proper name; the Rose Signet."

"Did you make it up or-?"

"Nope." she shrugged. "I had this daydream and it just came to me. And my Prince's name...his name is Dios. But to be on the safe side, because the Covenant are looking for him, I'll just refer to him as my prince. I don't want to get captured again." She shuddered at the thought. "As you already know, the Covenant are the Taliban of the 26th Century."

"What's a 'tally-ban?'"

"Religious zealots who are so gung-ho over their religion that they blow themselves up."

"Well, I've never seen a Covenant suicide bomber..." Cortana noted.

"Okay, true..."

"I'll call the Captain and let him know we've found the map room. Hang on a sec..._Cortana to Keyes..._"

Silence on the other end, and Utethy felt ripples of dread and anxiety echo in her soul. He can't be...maybe he is-

"_The Captain has dropped out of contact, Cortana. His ship maybe out of range or having some difficulties." _

Cortana sighed. _"Keep trying. Let him know that the Master Chief and I have determined the location of the control center. We'll be heading there as soon as we're topside." _

"_Affirmative. Foehammer out." _

"Let's go. We need to get back to the entrance and then we're going to the control room."

"No break?" Utethy asked.

"No break." The Master Chief mowed through a group of Grunts outside the Cartographer room. "Come on. It's not that far."

Checking before going out, they ran to avoid any other Covenant on their tails. They retraced their steps, and Utethy ran into (literally) some very unfriendly Jackals on the glass ramps. The first Kig-yar shook off the blow to his delicate beak, and growled menacingly, and barked to his teammates. Several similar growls came from them, and they launched bolts of plasma at the girl.

Not willing to give up just yet, she grabbed the first Jackal's shield and yanked him towards her, so that she could fire her charged pistol into its head. The others weren't going to go down so fast.

_So I guess my best defense and offense is to...SHOOT THEM ALL!! _

Dual wielding the pistol and rifle, she closed her eyes and shot the closest Jackals to her, not caring who it was.

She shot down a single Jackal before her pistol died on her.

"Good. Now try with your eyes open." John said. "Or, just let me do it."

He tore through them like a weed-wacker on grass, grabbed her free hand and ran through the door. John wasted no time in trying to get the hell out of the structure.

Well, then there was the string of Jackals, Grunts and Elites waiting for them...

"Oh great! More Kig-yar..." She moaned.

"You mean, 'oh great! _No_ Jackals...'". John smirked under his helmet as he took out the Rocket Launcher and blew them to hell. "This will be very useful."

"No kidding. But let me blow some of the up, okay?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

Utethy pouted; she hated when he was like this. But she knew a really great way to get back at him, and get out of the structure faster. "Tag! You're it!"

"Utethy...please no."

"Catch me!"

"Oh, God..."

She ran through the hallway and up most of the ramps before she caught a Minor Domo ahead of her. Maybe if she ran fast enough, she could miss him. Or maybe if she...tossed a grenade!

The blue Elite (unfortunately) saw her before she noticed and charged. Lighting the grenade and throwing it like a baseball, Utethy ran from the now doomed Elite and waited for him to explode before continuing.

"Oh no!"

"Human!"

"Enemy!"

_Oh God..._

"Guys! Guys! Stop!" She held her hands up in a defensive posture and, mainly because they've never seen a human do such a thing, they stopped. "Guys, why are you shooting at me?"

"Because you're an affront to the Gods!" yelped one

"Why?"

"Because you're human!" said another

"Why?"

"Because the Holy Ones said that you did something offensive."

"Why?"

"Because they never lie."

"Why?"

"Because–...uhm...uh..." They looked at one another before conversing amongst themselves on the answer they should give. Utethy smirked as she watched them chatter and speak in their native tongue, and even though she had the advantage, they were much too cute to kill.

"Utethy! Get down!"

"Whu?-AUGH!!"

She ducked as a flying grenade landed in between the Grunts (still talking) before going off and splattering periwinkle-blue across the walls.

John roughly grabbed her upper arm and tilted her chin so that she was looking straight into his visor. "Never. Run. Away. Again. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes..."

"I mean it. Don't."

"Okay...I won't."

"Promise?"

"Promise." She nodded. Then, after a beat, "John, will you fight for me?" She remembered the answer Sala gave and giggled a bit. John just looked at her and replied. "What do you think I'm doing right now, or did?" He checked the gun to make sure it was loaded, then pulled out the rocket launcher.

"Why are you-?"

"Saves time."

And his comment was proven true, as several Jackals would pop around the corner, then disappear with a scream and a blast.

"See? Now, stay here an I'll take care of the remaining Covenant."

"With the rocket launcher?"

"Yes. Now please don't run off."

He made a turn and in mere seconds destroyed any enemy forces that stood in their way. John touched her shoulder to signify that it was safe. Utethy's eyes widened and she checked an imaginary watch on her wrist, letting him know that he was fast. They ran through a door on the left, which led to yet another ramp.

"Are we there yet?" Utethy sighed.

"Almost, just hang tight." Cortana replied. "One more to go..."

"I hope so-ELITE!!"

John unleashed a round of bullets on the poor Minor Domo, and once he fell to the ground, Utethy turned to her right and saw a familiar sight: the large Covenant crate that she saw when they arrived here.

"YES YES YES!!"

The roar of a Sangheili and the panicked howls of Unggoy let her know that she wasn't out of the woods yet.

Without even thinking she threw as many possible grenades at them; one stuck, the others landed...wherever.

"You guys dead?!" she shouted.

"A-almo-st..." came the weary reply of a Grunt. Poor SOB.

"Forget it! Let's get out of here!" John grabbed her sleeve and they ran through the hallway that they first came through, but the glow of an Energy sword and the gleaming gold armor of a Zealot made him curse under his breath. Damn, it's always something.

John launched a grenade and the creature roared with anger. He made sure Utethy was out of the way before a turquoise explosion lit the area. Breathing hard they ran up the ramp and made it to the hallway. Utethy could breath in the sea salt air.

"Finally..._Cortana to Echo419. The Master Chief and I are topside, requesting pick up." _

"_Roger. On my way." _

Her knees felt a bit weak from running and almost sat down to rest before she saw a ripple in imagery, movement by a Stealth Elite. Utethy narrowed her eyes at the two Elites, who had also seen her, but thought that she didn't notice them. She had only one grenade left, and this was the money shot. She had to time this just right...a bit to the left...just a bit more forward...yes!!

A quick lighting and a flick of her wrist and the grenade landed on– the wall. Well, at least she tried.

_And what do you know? The Elite's are pissed as hell. Nice! _She tapped on John's armor, notifying him of the angered aliens. He sighed and dispatched them both, but not without some difficulty. After three minutes they were both dead and Utethy breathed in the air.

She heard something behind her, and saw Jose in the Warthog, who calmed her down with a wave. Smiling with relief, she remembered something before.

"Hey, Chief?"

"Yes?"

"You remember the two Lekgolo that we encountered before, right? Outside of the Cartographer structure?"

"Oh yes. I do." He turned to her. "Why?"

"Because they're back–RUN!!"

The sound of a Pelican descending close to the platform was heard in the hallway; Jose jumped out of the Warthog and ran towards the aircraft. John still had the rocket launcher with him, and made short work of them.

He ditched the weapon and scooped up Utethy, running towards Foehammer's Pelican and threw her into it. She made a small squeak of pain before he too, jumped in. She sighed and laid on the cool metal floor, her sweat dripping off her face and down strands of hair. Utethy felt Jose's hand on her brushing away the sweat.

"_We're going to have to drop off the Marine, Cortana. I hope you don't mind that we do." _

"_Not a problem, Foehammer, but we should get moving now. Here are the co-ordinates and flight plan I've worked out." _

"_But...Cortana, these plans are underground!" _

"_The Covenant did a thorough seismic scan. My analysis shows that Halo is honeycombed with deep tunnels, which circle the whole ring."_

"_I hope your plans are on the money Cortana. This pelican won't turn on a dime."_

"_Look on the bright side, Foehammer! The last thing the Covenant would expect is an aerial insertion...from underground." _

* * *

Ugh, this chapter did not want to get written. Sorry it took so long. But this chapter was over 22 pages long! And another reason for why I'm taking so long is because I really need to plan out my story before I write it. And that takes a while. So again, I'm sorry that I'm taking so long.

Yes, I'll be writing that special chapter soon. And you'll love it!

_HALO 3 OMG!! _


	22. White Snow Red

_Warn your warmth to turn away  
__Here it's December everyday. _

– AFI, "Love Like Winter"

* * *

**The Hanging Garden **

Yes! Soon the chapter you've all been waiting for shall go online. Just...not today. It's coming, possibly right after this. Oh! And check out my forums for Q&A, analysis and other things! Three songs that are beautiful for this chapter are:

"January (Black Dove)," Tori Amos

"Winter," Tori Amos

"Love Like Winter," AFI

It gets chilly! And I almost wished it to snow as I wrote this chapter. Don't worry...it's going to be broken up into chapters; the reason I did TSC in one chapter was because it was a relatively short level. And did you know that if you mix pink and purple together, it makes (a color similar to) magenta? I think it _is _magenta.

* * *

**Chapter 22 : White Snow Red **

A deep sigh.

"Are we there yet?"

A deep voice.

"Almost."

Vardihi felt a twist in her stomach and the perspiration on her palms and feet began to make them uncomfortably wet as she looked over from the Pelican's wide open back. She clung to John as they descended upwards, hoping not to fall. She felt the Pelican turn to the left, and the image of a Grunt shrieking and waddling away in fear made her smile.

"_This is as far as I can go! Sorry..." _Foehammer announced over her radio.

"_Roger that. We can find the Control Center from here, don't worry." _Cortana replied smoothly.

A smile was evident in the woman's voice. _"Good luck! Foehammer out!" _

Vardihi was the first one to jump out of the aircraft and onto the harsh metal. She checked her side for her pistol, and sighed as she felt it was still there. It would royally suck if she were to lose it.

John approached the door, then backed away as a Sangheili emerged from it. The creature wasted no time in charging at him, roaring and firing bolts of plasma at the SPARTAN. Vardihi, armed with only her pistol, stayed back.

John's rapid firing assault rifle made Swiss cheese out of the blue Elite, and made it relatively safe to pass the door. But the little Grunts who poked their heads out to see the commotion gave Vardihi room to practice her shooting skills.

The hallways were made of cold steel, the mere feel of the walls were enough to send sent chills through a person's nerve system. Vardihi learned that the hard way.

"Don't touch. Please." John sighed.

The girl shrugged, and explored the remaining length of the corridor, which lead to a room covered with Covenant forces. A blue Elite was striding past them without even a second look before he caught a glance of a rose and white uniform. His head whipped to his right, and to the alien's surprise, the infamous girl from the rumors surrounding the Supreme Commander stood.

She was practically a celebrity, and almost the whole Fleet of Particular Justice knew her from the stories. They locked eyes, and Vardihi nodded a greeting. The young Sangheili, too shocked at her presence, nodded back. Shrugging, the human girl smiled and walked past him, thinking that the Elite would allow them through.

She couldn't be more wrong. Just because she was the only one to melt the Supreme Commander's heart didn't mean she was worth anything above saliva.

The Minor Domo grabbed her in head and positioned his hands on her neck to break it. In pure fear she fired the pistol, not looking where she was aiming, into his foot. He recoiled slightly at the pain, and stopped himself to collect his senses. They were going haywire over the pain, and the girl wriggled from his grasp.

A second later a few hundred bullets embedded themselves into his skull. And the last thing he saw was a little magenta haired girl sprinting away from him.

Vardihi's heart gave out for the young Elite; he probably never wanted to be in a war to begin with. She watched as John reloaded his battle rifle and they pressed on. The air was metallic, with blood and with the steel surrounding them.

The sound of a panicked Unggoy resounded in their ears, but he could not be found. Two Kig-yar had found them, and with their shields and plasma guns, they were upon them. John took more than a few hits, mainly because he was protecting Vardihi with his armor; they were aiming for her, after all.

They, too, knew of the rumors, the stories, the tall tales. And they didn't like it one bit.

He threw a grenade at the duo, the bird-like creatures were too busy trying to shoot down Vardihi that they didn't notice it until it was too late. Their bodies flew against the opposite walls, smearing them with plum colored blood. They reached another door, and as they were passing through, a trio of Grunts rushed out to greet them with the same hostility as the Jackals.

With the emotion of a person reading a phonebook, John hit them each fatally with a blow from the butt of his gun. The hallways of this door was similar in every way to the previous one. Except this one was colder. A large door with glowing green triangles opened to them..

A gust of cold wind greeted them, and in the air snowflakes danced and landed themselves upon sleeping Grunts. One of their legs twitched at the cold touch, but did nothing more. Vardihi exhaled a breath and saw the wisp of air flutter and die in the breeze.

"Interesting..." Cortana's voice was filled with awe and wonder. "The weather patterns here seem natural, not artificial. I wonder if the ring's environment systems are malfunctioning...or if the designers wanted the installation to have natural weather..."

"It's the last one. The ones who made this ring, they knew what they were doing." Vardihi said, as if she knew it for a fact. "They were smarter than any human, trust me. Smarter even than you or John."

"Oh?" Cortana bit back bitterness.

Vardihi nodded. Then shivered in the cold. She had motioned for them to continue silently, without killing the sleeping Unggoy. It was too cruel, she said.

Her uniform was one for autumn and winter, and thanked her lucky stars that she didn't put on her spring-summer uniform when she ran away. Flakes landed themselves on her hair, her nose, her hands, making them colder than they actually were.

Before she could even react properly, Vardihi felt a surge of warmth graze her arm, and looked up to see, to her horror, that it was a plasma bolt that was fired from the Grunts further up ahead.

She gasped and a jet of warm air emerged from her mouth, and in her fear and desperation for any sort of safety, she didn't even notice that the glass under one of the long, curved centers of the floor was missing, and she fell through, where another level of the bridge awaited. She landed flat on her face, and the coldness make her shriek with pain. John jumped in after her, and without even thinking he pushed her against one of the supporters for the above bridge.

"Are you alright?" Cortana asked. "You don't look so good."

"N-n-no...I'm fr-freezing." She spoke between chattering teeth. "I ca-can't fight. Please...make it quick and I'll j-join you...fuck..."

"Trust me...I know how to make things quick." John locked and loaded another gun, and dashed ahead to the awaiting enemy.

Vardihi shivered. She hated the cold, but watched the snowflakes gently hover in the wind. There was a similar day like this...wasn't there? Days where the snowflakes wouldn't stop coming, and the entire house would be one giant white structure on the middle of a tundra, surrounded by other structures mounted with snow.

She became bored, and peeked around to see what was happening. Not much, other than the usual "John jumps in, beats up Covenant dopes, and I'm safe another day. Wheee." If she had to be safe, she could at least participate in actually deserving it by fighting for it. But she was too cold to think against it.

"_This is Fire Team Zulu requesting immediate assistance from any UNSC forces! Does anyone copy?!"_

The voice was deep, and desperate. He sounded like he had been though some serious hell, and wanted someone to drag him out of it.

Again Cortana spoke. Her voice was still one of awe. "Strange...I didn't think there were any human forces left on this part of the ring..._Cortana to Fire Team Zulu, I read you!" _She paused for an answer, and a feeling that she may have lost them, similar to the feeling of never seeing a friend again. _"Fire Team Zulu, this is Cortana! Hold position, we're on our way!" _

A faint static was the answer, and at first she was compelled to give up hope when the same voice responded almost seven seconds later.

"_Roger that. Make it quick." _and then silence. Vardihi wondered if they really would make it on time. A plasma pistol lay in front of her, and she grabbed it. The heat was more than welcoming, and she felt a little bit better.

A red Sangheili was awaiting John a few feet ahead. Not wanting to risk John getting hurt, she charged it up as best she could (it was half empty) and let the ball of green energy go flying into his face. He growled and charged John, who shot him in the head a good thirty times before reloading.

"Feeling any better, Balamiya?" Cortana asked.

"Yeah..a bit." She wiggled her fingers to make sure they were still usable. Vardihi looked down and admired the height, but backed away from the effects of vertigo.

The girl felt a stab in her left shoulder, she turned to see a bright pink needle sticking out of it. Instinct told her to grab the sharp object and rip it out. Her hand trembled and reached for it, but only seconds later it exploded, and she clenched her teeth against the pain. She felt her blood drip from the wound and stain her white uniform. Vardihi kneeled and gasped in agony, much to the delight of several Grunts around her. Four of them waddled their way to her, and began to jeer her.

"Well? Human up! You so strong now?!"

"Stupid human girl no fight! Whore is wounded!"

"Wh-whore?!" she exclaimed. The cold making her wound hurt more. But she pitied these poor creatures, who were no more than a slave race. "You may ca-call me that if you wish."

"Oh really?" The third one mocked. "You filthy! You bad!"

"Please..I feel your pain. I understand what you're going through. I know what it's like to be dominated by someone I don't like. I've been used and abused as well. And I want to go home too." A flake landed on her cheek, and slowly melted. The trail of water was like a tear.

The four Unggoy looked at one another, they had never once encountered a human like her. Normally an injured human (if mocked) would curse them out and make violent advances. She simply sympathized with them, and there were no ill intentions.

"Why you do this, girl? Why you no hurt us?"

She smiled, benevolently. Something she had learned form her Prince. "Princes...don't take advantage of others..."

They said nothing. The blood had dripped down her sleeve, and she was closing her eyes in a tired manner. The Grunts in the Supreme Commander's platoon were right; this girl was really kind. Those triplets weren't kidding.

Almost in reverent respect, they cleaned the wound. It wasn't much, but it clotted the blood, and sewed up the gash. She nodded back to them, and noticed that the Master Chief was walking towards her. She hurriedly motioned them to play dead, which they did. Unconvincingly. They flopped to the ground and made stupid looking dead faces. John just sighed and helped Vardihi off the ground.

"Why did you do that?"

She simply smiled. "Princes don't take advantage of others."

"Your arm..." he inspected the wound, it was sealed with some sort of gooey substance that was closing her injury. The uniform needed sewing...badly.

"Will I be fine?"

"Yes."

John nodded and walked towards the stairs that lead to the upper part of the bridge. Vardihi nodded to the Grunts and they waddled away from her. They needed to tell everyone about this girl.

Vardihi's sense of the cold was reawakened as she mounted the stairs. John had taken care of the resistance in their way, and arrived at another door, similar to the one they entered. The Master Chief wasn't taking any chances.

Almost as if on cue, a Zealot burst through the door, his energy sword blazing. Vardihi gasped and thought the world was over. Zek had found her again. But wait...

He looked at the Master Chief, then Vardihi. His eyes widened and he looked closer to view her and snorted. She wasn't pretty, or even remotely attractive. Her uniform was torn and stained with blood, both red, periwinkle and orange, and she smelled like blood, sweat and dirt. This human surely can't be the one the Supreme Commander was talking about! He raised his sword in a stabbing motion, but she flung herself at his feet.

"_Ycnellecxe, esaelp!"_ She bowed her head in submission. _"Gnihtemos yas em tel, esaelp!" _

Again he snorted. _"Kciuq ti ekam."_

She slowly looked up, and smiled. "Your Excellency, can you understand me if I speak my own toungue?"

He nodded."

"Can you speak it?"

He shook his head.

"O-okay...good enough. Your Excellency. May I suggest that you not kill me? But instead...you should kill _yourself_!"

John's jaw almost dropped to the floor, the Elite's eyes widened to the point of them being saucers and backhanded her hard. He didn't wait for her to recover before he raised his sword again, this time not stopping.

"This kid is really asking for it." Cortana mumbled.

"No no no no no!" Again her hands flew up in defense. "That's not what I meant. But please...listen to me. Picture this, if you will: You run into a hoard of humans, you light a plasma grenade, BOOM! Next thing you know there is no pain! You are with the Gods and Dios himself! Your cock is always hard, seventy-two hot young babes slobber upon it and you fuck them all the time! Their skin is smooth like a peach from Georgia! The river flows with gold, the food is always fresh! This is all yours." Vardihi stopped to catch her breath and the Elite looked at her oddly.

"_Em ot egabrag fo daol a ekil sdnuos._"

Vardihi looked at the Master Chief, and he realized what she was alluding to. Why she did that.

"Well, that's too bad. Because you'll be there in three seconds."

The Zealot felt burning warmth on his neck, and he realized that he had be set up from the beginning. He roared and swung the sword with lethal speed, but the Master Chief had swooped down and grabbed her before anything else could happen. As promised, three seconds later, the grenade exploded.

The door opened again, and this time, no one came out of it. Gratefully, they walked through the familiar looking hallway, and for a second Vardihi thought they had walked in a circle. But there was very little time to loose. No enemies were in sight, thankfully.

Yet another door was at the end of the hallway, and John decided that should someone try to hurt her, he should go first. It allowed him passage, and the quiet air was shattered within seconds. Grunts surrounded him on all sides, and Vardihi almost kicked herself for not acting. She picked up a frag grenade and carefully rolled it to the herd of Unngoy. Too busy with aiming their pistols and rousing themselves from napping, they didn't notice it until it was too late.

Good. Hard part's over. Kinda.

Vardihi noticed John, and she ran towards him. A feeling began to spread in her mind. A familiar one. She smelled the scent of roses...

Her ring began to glow bright.

She didn't notice him holding his hand out and telling her to "stop!". She didn't really notice anything else. A memory enveloped her.

_Halo..._

While she caught sight of the blue Elite winding up for a punch, she wasn't really thinking about anything else. She felt John's hand on her shoulder, but didn't think anything of it.

_My...children. My first children. _

She felt the stinging of the wound being pressed upon, and small trickles of blood began to seep from the scabbing lesion. Her head cracked against the frigid steel walls from the impact caused by John pulling her out of the way. The Elite's eyes were on fire.

_In the hanging garden, please don't speak. In the hanging garden no one sleeps. No one sleeps..._

Vardihi's eyes reflected years of past torment in her foster homes. Her dream to become a prince, the voices she hears, the stars she looked at when she was a baby. The silence she despises.

_My second children..._

She heard gunfire. She felt blood splatter or drip down her body. She heard John's voice (or was it Cortana's?) telling her to get out of the way. She saw the Elite. She saw the creature charging towards her. And for some odd reason...she felt no fear.

Only pain in her heart. Only regret in her mind. Only tears in her eyes.

_My third children..._

She heard a scream, and then a brilliant blaze set her hand aglow, and the same sword appeared. A luminescent silhouette sharp as any razor, yet clearer and slightly more physical than previous times. Vardihi's eyes also shone that same light, and without a second thought, slit the Elite diagonally. The cut was so clean no blood oozed from either half of the body, or the sword.

_My fourth children..._

John stood stupefied. The light was blinding, and the same invisible, non-existent wind moves her clothing and hair in a heavenly manner. The Sword of Dios slowly began to disappear into nothingness, and the light faded away. Vardihi stood over the Elite's corpse, and her eyes widened. Again. Why did it happen again?!

Letting out a growl of frustration, she glanced upwards and saw two dead Human bodies. A gasp escaped her, and she looked away, too upset to look any further.

"Vardihi...take off that ring."

"WHAT?!"

"I said, take off the ring." John grabbed her left hand. "It's giving you these insane powers...making you do supernatural things. It's becoming more and more dangerous. Take it off."

"No! John, how could you?" She glared at him sharply. "John, this ring is the only thing that ties me to the past, and my prince! I don't tell you to take off your helmet-"

"My helmet doesn't make me do insane things."

"Cortana's in there, that's good enough."

"Hmm..." Cortana said to herself. "Touche."

"Okay...here's a compromise..." John sighed. She was really obstinate. "One more unnatural thing that ring makes you do, and you take it off. Deal?"

Vardihi stared at the golden visor, she thought long and hard about her next words. "Sorry John...no can do."

She walked solemnly ahead, and a door automatically opened for her. John followed, and began to speak to her on their way.

"Vardihi...please. This isn't normal."

"I'm not all that normal, either."

"Vardihi, this isn't the first time that has happened. Tell me...what happens to you?"

"Huh?" She looked over her shoulder.

"What do you feel?"

"A lot of things...I think I'm remembering stuff. Like, I'm really...really afraid. I think I've seen those visions. In my dreams." Her eyes softened. "I think my Prince wants me to remember something. I think-oh! An elevator."

Just like the rest of the facility, the elevator was steel and cold. The holopanel that activated it was the first thing that caught her eye. It was brilliant blue, with some dark purple and periwinkle sprinkled in. She nodded for the Master Chief to get on, which he did. He was about to say something when she touched a "button" on the panel, and they descended downwards.

Vardihi's stomach dropped a bit, and a very brief wave of nausea hit her, but it passed as soon as it came.

She didn't like the silence that hung in the air between them, so she decided to start a conversation.

"Hey, John? How old are you?"

_Fourty-one_

"None of your business."

"Jeez, chill. What school did you go to?"

_Reach Military Complex _

"Classified."

"Oookay. Whose you're best friend?"

_Sam and Kelly._

"Classified."

"Alright then. What planet did you come from?"

_Eridanus II _

"Classified."

"Jesus, what _isn't _classified?"

"A lot of things."

"Okay. What's your last name?"

_...what __is__ my last name? _

"117."

"Whuh?!" She looked at him strangely. "Come on, John. What's your _real _last name?"

He glanced at her from his visor, and tried to remember. He had a last name...once. Before he was put into the SPARTAN program. Yes, he did. But what was it?

"I...I don't know."

She laughed. "How could you forget? And besides, what kind of last name is '117' anyway?"

John had to stifle a growl. "What kind of name is 'Balamiya' anyway?"

The platform shoot as it reached the ground, but Vardihi had something to say. She reached into her shirt and pulled out her locket, fingering it gently.

"Well, my father was Japanese. His name was Baramiya Yoshiro. My mom, Erika Amherst, came over from Ireland to study in Tokyo when she met him. She was nineteen, he was twenty-two. The sparks flew like fireworks when they met, and they became engaged . A year later they were married, the traditional Japanese way, and the traditional Irish way. When they came to America, my dad realized that 'Baramiya' didn't sound too good when spoke by non-Japanese folk, so he changed the 'r' to an 'l'. So...that's why I'm called Balamiya!

"But, why do you insist on having your last name in front of your first name?"

"Eh, my dad thought it sounded better than 'Vardihi Balamiya'. It rubbed off on me. And...just so you know, my mom was of Irish origins, so that's were my red hair came from. The eyes? Well, my dad _was_ a very unique man. Anything else? "

"What does 'Vardihi' mean?"

"Hmm, well...when my mom was pregnant with me, my dad wanted a name that was unique and uncommon. He said he was just playing around with words on paper and he liked the way my name was spelled and how it sounded. I think it means something, but dad always shrugged and said that it meant something special, but he didn't know. The Covenant sure do think so. That answer all your questions?"

"Yes."

"Excellent! Let's go."

They strolled to find a group of sleeping Unggoy, happily curled up and whimpering in their sleep. She didn't know what they dreamed about, but she smiled and tiptoed away from them. They did nothing to her, and she wasn't going to hit sleeping Grunts.

"Eeek!"

She turned and saw that John had killed one of the sleeping creature with the butt of his rifle. The others were blissfully unaware of their comrade's death, and to be truthful, it was better that way.

Vardihi marched over to him and grabbed the gun, shaking her head. She mouthed the words "no, they're too cute." and walked away, trusting he'd know better. But John was a soldier, not a bleeding heart, and continued to bash their heads in.

The girl snorted and, as punishment, ignored him for as long as it took. She angrily stomped off and to her surprise, more sleeping Grunts were up ahead, but they were being watched by a very bored Minor Domo. He paced up and down the hallways, and when his back turned she tossed a plasma grenade on him. He was too shocked at the feeling to react, and the sound of the grenade blowing up woke up the sleeping Unggoy. They shrieked and ran in circles, unsure of what do to without their superior.

John pushed her out of the way and shot them all at point blank range. Shrugging she said nothing but walked, then ran as she heard the squawking of Jackals and the pants of Grunts. She wanted to get out of there.

The Master Chief took the hint and broke into a slight jog. She could sense that a door was close, or maybe it was false instincts. And whoop-dee-doo, a door was just down a hallway. Casting a backwards glance, she tiptoed away from the herd of oncoming Unggoy frantically sniffing the air.

Shaking his head the Master Chief grabbed her arm and dragged her away from the large chamber. Her annoying slowness making him agitated. Vardihi could sense from the slight chill in the hallway that they were either approaching another long bridge, or they were going into a wintery mess.

When the door opened, she didn't know what hit her first; the freezing shiver of the cold, or the scent of falling snow and burnt wood. Trees were on fire, and the snow flurries seemed to come down at a rapid speed. Her feet crunched against the snow, crusting the soles with a thick film of white. She began to become very cold.

Goose bumps appeared on her arms and legs, her torso and her neck, despite being covered with her clothing. She heard voices, both Covenant and human, coming from all directions, and blood, red blood, stained the snow everywhere she looked.

Staring at them...triggered a memory...

- - / - -

_7 year old Balamiya Vardihi happily smiled to herself. A decorated Brownie, this was her very first cookie sale, and she was doing it all by herself. Her strawberry red hair was neatly pulled back into a high ponytail, and the snow had just begun to start falling. _

_Her first stop was a large, peach house that belonged to a handsome man that no one really spoke to, and the adults didn't really want to associate with. She thought he was quite lonely, and decided to try to befriend him. _

_She remembers ringing his doorbell, and him answering it. He was out of the shower and had a red towel around his waist. She didn't remember what either of them said, but to amuse himself he let his towel fall to the ground and watched as Vardihi drop the cookies she was holding. She remembered her eyes widening with shock, and her little mouth opened aghast. _

_Almost as if the man came to his senses, he hurriedly grabbed his towel, proceeded to grab a box of cookies, and throw three dollars at her. It was a test, he said, to see if she was a good girl. And she passed it. _

_Vardihi said nothing when she got home, her wagon still full of unbought treats. When her father saw the look on her face, he asked what was the matter. She still said nothing. Her eyes remained widened, her skin still covered with goose bumps from the cold. The color red still in her vision. _

_Red..._

_- - / - - _

An explosion rocked her vision with an almost deafening sound. A chunk of cliff walls fell to the snow, almost hitting the Humans. It became just a little bit colder since her memory.

"Vardihi? Are you okay?"

She nodded her head in an attempt to make herself seem stronger than she actually was. Flakes of white were sticking themselves to her short magenta hair like lint on a forgotten toy in the attic.

"Come on,"

She wrapped her arms around herself and followed, on the lookout for anything that seemed to be either heading straight towards them or out of the ordinary. She squinted her eyes against the half blinding snow, and saw two Sangheili board two Ghosts. One went towards the Humans, the other went for them.

It was cold, she was weaponless, and if she ran she'd get shot down or fall face first onto the snow. She didn't like being cold. John could see that perfectly. She was in no condition to fight, and he wasn't about to loose another person close to him...

_Sam..._

He gave her the sign to run away, and she did. She wanted to fight, but they knew she couldn't. She was so cold her knees felt like icy blocks and every breath she inhaled felt like her lungs were getting frozen over. Vardihi began to run faster, closer to the overturned Warthog, desperate to find any sort of heat. Maybe this vehicle could spare a few puffs of gas from its engine. Shivering she stared at her hands for a distraction.

Her normally shell-pink nails were turning blue.

The cold wetness was seeping into her shoes, and it made her want to scream. It was so uncomfortable...!

Another blast of white-purple rocked the canyon. And she kneeled to get herself away from the blast. Vardihi's knees were now wet from the melting snow against her skin through her uniform.

She wanted more than anything to just...

"Hey look! A girl!"

She looked up and saw ten Marines coming to her. She was soon surrounded by them, and she felt a sense of safety, however fleeting it may be. One put a hand on her face and felt how cold she was.

"You cold?"

"Nope! I'm so hot I'm freezing." Laughing despite the frigid temperatures, she held out her hand as if she were handing him a card. "Here's your sign."

"What?"

"Never mind." She rolled her eyes. "I'm very cold. I'm wearing my friggin' school uniform-"

"Hey, you're that kid who was sexually assaulted by that Elite, right?"

"Yeah, but...nothing happened, sir."

A Marine spoke up from behind her. "That's not what we heard."

"Then what did you hear?" She frowned.

The Marine opened his mouth, but was cut off by his comrade, who shook his head with a lopsided grin on his face. He shrugged. "I think it's best you not know."

Vardihi wrapped her arms around herself tighter. She wondered where John was, and if he killed them all safely. Her teeth began to chatter insanely, and the snow seemed to fall faster just to spite her.

Her eyes seemed to just freeze over, and she wanted to cry. Her eyes glanced up and saw a blur of green. Vardihi squealed with joy and ran towards him. She almost wrapped her arms around his armored body, but the cold metal almost burned her skin. The girl recoiled in pain and winced.

"I know it's cold."

"How warm is it in there, Chief?" she smiled, still freezing.

"It's...nice."

"Lucky!"

"Nice of you to join the party, sir!" A Marine in back exclaimed, obviously happy to see a Spartan. "Whose you're little friend?"

"Her name's Vardihi."

"What kind of name is that?"

"A special one."

Vardihi smiled and for a few seconds, forgot that she was cold. Or that she was just a kid. John was so sweet to her, so protective and...fatherly.

"John's the greatest," she said.

Cortana smiled. "When did you notice that, Balamiya?"

"When we met."

She rubbed her arms and started shivering again. "We should go...too many people in the same spot tend to make us vulnerable. I TAKE THE PISTOL!"

Giggling she picked up an abandoned pistol that lay on the snow, but almost dropping it when she felt the stinging sensation. Breathing warm air on her hand, she took a white handkerchief out of her pocket and tried again. The cold was still there, but not as noticeable. The sound of feet crunching against snow was apparent, and the neon green shields gave away several positions.

"Jackals," said one Marine, loading more bullets into his rifle.

"You mean Kig-yar."

"What?"

"That's the real name for Jackals; Kig-yar."

"I prefer Jackals."

Vardihi shrugged. "To each his own, I guess."

She blinked her eyes rapidly to moisten them, the cold was making them a bit dry. But with each blink, she only made them more irritated. The snow wasn't making it any easier. The bulbs of white hot purple continued to soar over them, destroying more and more of the beautiful snowy field with each landing

She watched and waited for one to land on them.

A group of Jackals waited some way ahead to her right, and she didn't want to take the chance of them getting any ideas. Squinting against the thick snow, Vardihi fired a few well placed hits in a few skulls, but most of what she fired landed on the snow or on a shield.

She became colder and colder as they continued to fight.

"Vardihi! Over here!" John called out to her left, and she ran to him. The girl heard a grunt and "I'm hit!" from a Marine, and to shut out the sound of him gasping in the air, she ran faster to the wind chilled the cartilage in her nose and ears. John had flipped the Warthog right side-up and started the engine, but not before grabbing some supplies. He gestured her to get in the front, and they drove off to collect the surviving Marines.

To Vardihi's horror, the snow was more red than the last time it had been. Gulping she said nothing, but turned away from the bodies and watched as John headed straight for the large Wraith tank that was launching its artillery closer to the small jeep.

There was a large, frozen lake that was chilled past the point of breaking. Some of the alien warriors slipped and almost lost footing, which made her smile, and saw them retreat to softer ground.

Bullets lodged themselves in the Wraith's thick metallic skin, doing little damage, and caused Vardihi to worry if they were going to-

A bulb of purple again surged from it, and knocked two of the passengers from the Warhog. Vardihi and the young Marine landed on the bitter snow. The Marine, having on a helmet and suitable gear, brushed himself off and continued fighting like nothing happened.

Vardihi felt like her face was getting cryosurgery, the biting cold made her scream in pain. Her hands were starting to stiffen, and the arctic temperatures were finally driving her mad. In her desperation for warmth, she weakly stood and ran to the Warthog, which was now on the iced pond, swerving a bit, but nonetheless putting up a fight.

Discarded weapons lay on the glassy exterior. Vardihi thought of them, but in her sprint she slipped and tripped on the ice, making it seem like a comical and awkward dance before finally falling head first onto it, slowly sliding a few inches. She felt her stitches break slightly, and the sound of alien laughter filled her ears. The Covenant troops found it to be humorous, apparently.

And despite her own pain and humiliation, Vardihi laughed along with them. She pictured what she looked like from their perspective, a clumsy little girl. If any one of them did the same thing she did, she would laugh harder.

Confused by the girl's sudden burst of giggles, the body of Covenant aliens looked at her closely. A Jackal pointed out that she was the girl captured by the Supreme Commander, the one who he had become smitten with. She sat on the ice crying and laughing, hair askew, blood staining her magenta hair.

John jumped out of the Warthog, and despite being shot at, he picked her up and placed her back into the front seat. Everything started up again as if the scenario that had befallen Vardihi was only a passing daydream.

Now off the ice the two vehicles fired at one another insanely, the Warthog dodging the explosive violet and the Wraith hovering elegantly, dangerously, closer to the jeep with each offensive move.

Vardihi could tell from the sparks that it would not hold for very long. An idea hit her and she smiled, tapped John's shoulder and whispered.

She handed him the glowing item and watched as he tossed it. The plasma grenade finished it off perfectly, and the Marines cheered.

She, too, wanted to celebrate their victory.

But she was just _so cold!_

* * *

Heh, another long chapter, another long wait. I played H3 and it rocks my socks. The only problems were

1) Too short

2) Open ended ending (I played on Legendary.)

3) THEY CHANGED TRUTH'S VOICE! HIS SEXY VOICE! sob


	23. Frost Bites

_Mirror, mirror, where's the crystal palace? _

_But I can only see myself _

_Skating around the truth who I am _

_But I know, Dad, the ice is getting thin _

_-Winter, Tori Amos _

* * *

**The Hanging Garden **

Damn, took me long enough, eh? The reason why is that the chapters are getting longer, and thus, I will take more time writing them. This is over ten pages.

THG is halfway done, which is good. I want to write_ The Hanging Garden: The Fate of the World _pretty soon. And everyone, please check out my forums/rewritten chapters!

Here is something I want everyone to know: this, all of this, is called fanfiction for a reason. The chances of Bungie looking at this story and saying "Wow! This is great!" is almost a billion to one. This place is to unleash imagination, not cage it. Yes, this story is VERY unorthodox, but that's what makes it beautiful and unique.

* * *

**Chapter 23 :: Frost Bites **

"Chief, it is butt-ass cold. Please let's get out of here."

"You said it twice."

"That's how cold it is!"

Vardihi shivered as the Warthog drove to another part of the snowy canyon. There wasn't a lot of resistance, and if they were met they were promptly run over with the jeep.

John suddenly stopped and got out, exploring the terrain on foot. Vardihi was about to follow suit, when she was pushed back into the seat. "Stay here," he said. "And don't come out until I tell you to."

"Okay."

He jogged ahead of the vehicle, gun ready at all times. The frigid wind blew heavily in her ears. John gave her a signal and she jumped out, skipping to warm herself. Vardihi stopped next to the Master Chief, looking at him in a "what do we do now?" way. He opened his mouth to respond when-

"What the-?"

_BOOM!! _

Vardihi screamed in terror as a mortar tank obliterated the Warthog not even ten feet away from them, sending a blazing wave of white hot heat over them. John had pressed Vardihi's vulnerable body against the cold rocks, taking most of the hit.

The girl was shaking in fear after the fire had cooled. After taking in almost a hundred inhales of frigid air, she calmed down considerably. John grabbed her hand and they made a run for the UNSC tank. The new Wraith was still concentrating on them, and more enemy troops shooting them where they stood wasn't helping either. It was a good thing that this hunk of 19th Century crap stood well against plasma and needlers. He jumped into the large vehicle and started it up.

The tank began moving, the head swerving in the direction of the Wraith, and blew it to pieces with one shot. Perfect.

Vardihi watched as John poked his head out and checked to see if she was alright. The SPARTAN nodded and went back in. She continued to cling onto the latches, and despite the uncomfortable feeling that came with hanging on in such an awkward manner. The tank shook with each blow it delt to the Ghosts and foot soldiers.

John jumped out and when he deemed it safe, motioned for her to come to him. There were twelve Marines, and along with the seven that had followed then from the previous canyon, that would make...nineteen! That's a great little army, in this place.

The newfound Marines looked at her in a quizzical manner, as if they were wondering what a girl her age was doing here. Like always, their stares made her uncomfortable.

"Hey look! John...another downed Pelican." In an attempt to distract them, she diverted their attention to the fallen ship, the dead bodies surrounding it, and the weaponry that was available. Her hands were still cold, and the metal of the sniper wasn't helping. She saw that the faces of the Marines still held scorn and confusion. She wanted to make them stop staring at her like that, it made her uncomfortable and shy.

She smiled nervously and searched the insides of the dropship, looking at the seats, the radios, the door that lead to the cockpit. It wasn't any warmer in there than it was outside, but the swift, heated grasp of a Marine's grip jerked her onto the snow.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I...I don't know." She wasn't lying, she really had no clue.

He snorted. "What do you mean, you don't know?" He leveled his gun to her face, making her heart beast faster. "I bet you're a Covenant spy-"

"Hold it!" The sound of John's voice startled the Marine. The SPARTAN yanked the gun out of his hand and threw it some distance away, then glared at him beneath his golden visor.

"Look at that; a Mark V..." someone whispered. "We have a chance!"

If John heard him, he took no notice. Instead he grabbed Vardihi and slung her over his shoulder, proceeded back to the tank, and dropped her onto the swerving head before climbing in. "Okay, let's go." Then, to the girl, "Don't wander off, okay? Stay on the tank until I say so." He looked at the sniper rifle she clutched. "I'm trusting you with that. You have a 'three-strikes-you're-out' policy now. No goofing off, no playing around...just business. This isn't a toy-"

"Yes, Chief!" She wanted his little lecture to be over. Vardihi had gotten more than her fair share of them, anyway. He nodded and disappeared into the tank. She climbed down onto one of the "seats" it had, and awkwardly checked the ammo count: it was full. "JOHN! LOOK OUT!"

A ghost hovered dangerously close to the Marines, firing madly at them and almost running them over.

The tank's head turned, and then fired an angry bolt at the cool purple craft, sending chunks of burning matter over the white snow. Vardihi gave a cheer of victory.

"Everyone get on!"

The Marines hopped onto the tank like white on rice, clinging to the structure like it was their only hope. Which it was, in a way. The wind was cruel, like the soft snow the tank crushed over. She wished she had brought something to weather the snow that stuck onto her pale face, but the heavy sniper pressing against her hands and body made it difficult to shield her face. The large, yawning cave up ahead made her hope that there would be some sort of protection from the blizzard outside.

The Chief let loose another blast of firepower into the cave, sending random Grunts flying every which way screaming. The single Minor Domo Elite was shot dead by the Marines on the other side.

Vardihi squinted her eyes through the white haze before her, and saw more enemy vehicles than there were rocks around them. The cold didn't bother her anymore; the chill that ran up her spine and the uneasiness in her stomach was all she was worried about.

"Jesus, look at all of them mortars! Looks like we're in for one wild ride..." a Marine gulped nervously and fiddled with his rifle.

"The Covenant placed their tanks to defend the entrance to the tunnel," Cortana said.

"Jee, Cortana, tell us something we _don't _know." Vardihi grumbled.

"I like eggs. Now shush!"

Vardihi rolled her eyes and gripped her gun tightly than before. She didn't want to use all of the ammo before an event that required a sniper happened, so she simply allowed others to do the work for her.

The mortar tanks still scared her, still made her queasy every time she saw them, even if they missed their intended target. She was more than thankful when they were blow up, but guilty thinking about the crew inside who payed the price.

"Well, it looks like they ain't so tough after all!" An Australian Marine exclaimed. "Let's mop up the rest, Chief!"

"How about we just go into that cavern over there?" His partner pointed to an elaborately designed cavern just up ahead. "Leaves more of us alive."

Apparently that entrance was well guarded; two Lekgolo patrolled the area and as soon as they saw the massive tank coming their way, they let loose orb after orb of green plasma. It did heavy damage to the tank, and it was sheer luck that no one died. Well, no casualty on the Human's side. The Lekgolo pair was decimated in less than seven seconds by the tank's cannon. It stopped dead in front of the large door, and the Master Chief popped his head out.

"Vardihi, can you do me a favor?"

"Yes, Chief?"

"Can you press the holopanel that's over there? It would help a lot."

"Sure thing," She happily walked over to the blue on turquoise panel and pressed her hand against it. The door opened obediently, and Vardihi hopped back onto the tank as it moved. The interior of the long hallway was much warmer than in the frigid snow outside. But once they reached tan bridges, she knew that they weren't out of the woods just yet.

Covenant swarmed the area like termites in a wooden house. Lekgolo pairs, legions of Sangheili, Kig-yar and Unggoy were in every corner and crevice. While her appearance was conspicuous enough to warrant every last alien soldier focusing on her, she was so well hidden that they barely took notice of her.

Which was good, considering how much scathing attention she got for "seducing" the Supreme Commander. Now was the perfect time for revenge. She had to use every muscle in her arms to view the sniper's scope, and while it was heavy and hurt her wrists, she hid it under a jovial demeanor.

"Stay down everyone! It's PLAYTIME!!"

It took her a good seven seconds to find the trigger, and she watched in joy as she hit an Unggoy dead on. The next few targets weren't as easy; they moved around too much and she had to put down the sniper to regain some strength in them. Soon enough though, she managed to kill half of the troops on the other side before the bullets were used up. Thankful that she didn't need it anymore, she tossed it down and sucked in huge breaths.

The tank moved again, slowly, so not to run off the bridge. She had abandoned the sniper, and curled into a ball to look inconspicuous. Vardihi just hoped that the Chief would hurry the fuck up.

The other side was much less hostile, thanks to the combined efforts of her and the rest of the Marines. When all was clear, another large door awaited them.

"Vardihi?"

"Yeah, yeah. I know..." Dutifully she jumped out and touched the panel, the door allowing them passage.

Yet another corridor, and more Covenant forces. She was more than ready to just throw up her hands and loose her mind from all the combat. Sometimes, she wanted the Covenant to just blow themselves up like those stupid suicide bombers in her time, saves them ammo and lives.

"Hey, John?"

"Yes?" Cortana answered for him.

"Are we there yet?"

"Does it _look _like we're there yet?"

"No."

"You just answered your own question."

"Oh joy..."

The cold air reminded her that they were close to the ever so wonderful winter wonderland that threatened to cryo-freeze her digits and nose off.

The horseshoe dropship wasn't a welcoming sight, neither were the tons of Unggoy and Sangheili that came out of it.

_Come on, John! Shoot that thing down! I...I don't want to die. _

Almost as if he had read her mind (or Cortana had a super secret "mind reading technique" that she didn't show off) he destroyed it in three hits, its shattered violet pieces collapsing into the snow and effectively crushing most of the Unggoy.

She breathed a sigh of relief, until the very angered Sangheili opened fire on the tank. Cursing the fact that she discarded the sniper back in the tunnel, she wanted to ask the Marine to her right for his machine gun, but then realized that he wouldn't be protected. And she would never-

Large bolts of plasma hit the man and scorched his flesh black before falling off the tank, dead.

Okay...maybe his gun was up for grabs then.

"Vardihi! Get off the tank!" the Master Chief climbed out and hit the snow with his green boots. "No reason to keep going in it. Take a gun and let's go."

"Maybe we should. My spider senses detect a Wraith nearby." It was a pure guess (and probably false) but she didn't want to take any chances and have him end up dead.

John caught an ominous heated blur out of the corner of his eye. A Stealth Elite, for sure. Or a Zealot. Two of them.

"Vardihi...I want to you hide behind the tank, and stay there until I tell you that it's safe, okay?" he whispered.

She nodded and crouched on the shadow the tank made. It didn't hide her perfectly, but it was enough. She counted seven seconds before the ever classical roar from a kamikaze Sangheili made her heart jump into her throat.

Vardihi stared at the snow, trying not to picture the Chief dead, when an idea hit her.

She packed it into a firm ball, ignoring the feeling of her fingers going numb, and peeked over the khaki head. Sure enough, there were two Stealth Sangheili dodging around the Spartan almost mockingly. Vardihi half expected for them to taunt him, or stab him in the back with an energy sword.

_Stupid, they don't _have _energy swords...that's reserved for the Zealots. Well, don't have to worry about him being nailed with one of those. _

She aimed carefully at one of the Sangheili, and prayed that she'd hit-

"Oof!"

"YES! GET'EM GET'EM GET'EM!!"

_Bang! Bang! Bang! _

A roar of painful defeat, the crushing of snow as the body fell.

"WOOOO!"

"Nice shot, Balamiya," Cortana said, slightly impressed. "A new way of defeating those Stealth Elites. Now try it with the other one."

The other one? Aw crap! She forgot about the other one, and she rushed to make a snowball before it did any more damage.

She felt a hand wrap around her neck and throw her hard into the ground. Vardihi spat out a mouthful of snow, her eyelashes caked with it. She squinted, saw the blur of the camouflage, and threw whatever snow was in her hand.

It was enough for the Master Chief to spot it clearly and kill it.

The girl hauled herself off the snow, and wiped her eyes clean of any frigid flakes. "Okay...so, we're still abandoning the tank?"

"No."

"THANK you!"

"Back on the tank."

"Roger!"

She breathed in the air, willing herself to calm down as she climbed onto the side seats. She bid the bodies of the soldiers goodbye, silently telling them that their sacrifices were not in vain, and that they would all meet again. Surely-

"Vardihi! Get down!" Cortana's voice was desperate.

Stationary gun on a cliff, Ghosts to the right, and a Wraith straight ahead. Woo, boy...life just gives one blow after another.

John didn't think twice when he blew the aliens to bits; it wasn't his job to think twice. His job was to defend Earth, defend what was left of humanity. He thought about Vardihi, and how she was freezing outside as they pressed on as if nothing even happened.

He wished there were more room in the interior of the tank; he hated to see her freezing outside, and he could keep a better eye on her in here. He continued to mow through every Covenant force imaginable, eliminating them until nothing but blood and bodies remained.

Vardihi was fine outside, but she had her eyes glued to the frozen solid river down below, and what looked like Hunters waiting patiently to her far left.

"Hmmm..." Cortana 's voice contained a hint of fascination, but not a lot. "I thought the Covenant eliminated all Marine forces in this area. Seems like most survived."

The Chief was surprised as well, but decided not to make his emotions know. Vardihi was notorious for using any obvious emotion in the Spartan to her advantage, be it for him to act "more human", or just to fool around.

Vardihi saw a line of Marines in her vision, and in her excitement waved furious at them. She thought that with the death of the other soldiers back behind them, it would just be her, the Spartan, and the AI. To her delight she saw a young, yet experience, Marine wave awkwardly back.

That is, until a huge green blob soared past him, making him jump with surprise.

Lekgolo. Joy.

"John! JOHN!" she banged on the side. "Lekg-Hunters!"

"I can take them. Relax."

She always knew he could, but they were stupid vehicles. Like the goddamn dropship overhead that was firing madly at both the tank and the poor Marines.

"Look sharp boys! Enemy dropship overhead! Let's move!"

"We're trapped! TRAPPED! The Covenant are dropping in behind us!" she heard more panicked shouts.

"Not for long," she smiled as the nose of the tank turned around and aimed above. Like before, the Marines had to dodge the falling debris, and hitched a ride on the tank. The Marine that waved to her sat next to her, and wondered how in the hell a little girl could be here. Her lips were blue and she was shaking, but she kept on smiling.

"What are you doing here, kid?" he asked, the feeling of the tank moving somehow soothing him.

"Well...to make a long story short," she laughed. "I fell from the sky."

The Marine said nothing back to her, but kept a tight grip on his gun. Oh well, maybe someone besides John and Cortana will understand...

The tank stopped, and John jumped out. The Marines followed him, and Vardihi made in her job to make sure no one spotted her as they went into the tunnel.

To her horror, she sensed another Stealth Elite. Even though her fingers stung when she made another snowball, the girl showed no outward pain. She packed it perfectly, and tried to make a quiet dead aim. He was either an Aristocrat, or the sword wasn't truly his, but a loan. Or whatever.

Swallowing heavily she chucked the snowball at the Sangheili's chest, but a combined effort of the cold and her nervousness made it only hit the foot. He jumped with surprise, then raised his head to see the notorious female, and the green armored...whatever it was.

Vardihi closed her eyes and tried to block out the sounds of the dying creature. In the gelid air almost everything seemed to echo, then go silent. It was something she had noticed since she was a baby: when snow fell, everything became quieter, or louder. In this case, both.

"Are we there yet?"

"Does it _look _like we're there?" Cortana said, already annoyed with the question.

Vardihi sighed. "No,"

"Yet again, Balamiya, you answered your own question."

The girl walked in a huff, and stood behind a boulder while they hauled alien ass. It was honestly not the best way to spend this ever-so wonderful winter vacation, and when the snow powder cleared she got the "okay" to come out. She nonchalantly picked up a discarded pistol and fired a bullet into the snow to make sure it was full.

"Vardihi, stay close," John placed a hand on her shoulder.

She nodded, and followed as closely as she could without touching the frigid metal of his armor. She heard rapid, large footfalls in the snow, and realized that a Sangheili was close.

"John, Sanghe–Elite...he's just ahead." She said between her teeth chattering. He responded with a nudge behind a rather emerald pine tree. She didn't attempt to fight him this time, she just wanted to find the control room and be done with it. But there was something about this place. Something she couldn't shake. It was the feeling that she had been here before.

Duh! She's seen snow before this fiasco, especially like this.

No, she's been _here_, on this ring before. How many were there? The Covenant said there were seven rings. Had she been to one of them in her dreams? There was someone she had to meet here, or who wanted to meet her (again, possibly?). Someone who had been waiting for her arrival for a long, long time. Someone who had been counting the years, months, days, hours, seconds until she came. Vardihi swallowed, and realization dawned on her.

She gasped and her face broke into a broad smile despite how cold she was.

Her Prince must be close! It was undeniable! Maybe when they find the control room, she could possibly pin-point where he is. Or something like that. Maybe she just needed to trust her instincts, and not technology. After all...it's called faith for a reason.

"Vardihi? Are you alive?" Cortana called sarcastically. She blinked then turned towards them, her face down. "We've been calling you, and you seemed to be in your own little world...not a good thing."

"And neither is this! The Covenant are dug in up in those rock! They've got us pinned here!!" the same young Marine from before shouted.

"We need to get up this ridge," Cortana cleared her throat, then went to the radio. "Marines, hold your positions! We'll handle those guns." the static faded, and she spoke to both John and Vardihi. "We should scale this ridge and get below the stationary guns."

"That sounds like a great idea," Vardihi looked at the sky. "We should get going soon, like, right now. As we're talking. We can walk and talk at the same time, right? Cane we go now, please? "

"You sound as if something bad is going to-"

"Banshees."

Sure enough, three banshees circled overhead like vultures. Vardihi knew that her little pistol was of no use against them, and felt trapped. She wanted to run and hide, but she thought that it would make her look cowardly. Would John mind?

"Vardihi! What are you doing here? Hide!" he shouted between firing of both his gun and their plasma bolts. The girl didn't need to be told twice; she ran for the door in the cliffs like a gazelle, only to run face first into a Minor Domo coming out of it.

She gasped and fell to the ground, wondering if he was going to kill her. Both of them locked eyes, and while he held a plasma rifle, he was stunned by the fact that she (of all people!) was here.

He didn't know if he should shoot her, or just look a the infamous creature that had caused a debate in the Sangheili community on whether humans were as atrocious as the San'Shyuum made them out to be. And this Sangheili had longed to see the infamous female, to see her side of the story.

The Minor Domo reached out his hand, and waited for the human to grasp it. A story that was told amongst warrior species was that the girl loved touching an being touched; it was spread by none other than the Supreme Commander himself.

Vardihi smiled, and hesitantly grasped the hand before her. She didn't shake it, just let the heated flesh of the Sangheili warm her cold, pallid skin.

"_Lrig, dloc uoy era?" _He said. Vardihi nodded.

"_Ma I sey_. _htraeh mraw a fo tnorf ni gnieb ot tnelaviuqe si ssendnik siht tub." _she smiled, and her teeth chattered. _"Yawa teg ot evah uoy-"_

She was going to tell the creature to leave before anyone shot him. He was kind, and only under the influence of an insane cult.

Within moments of even speaking, the Sangheili's plasma gun dropped from his hand in awe. Vardihi reluctantly took her hand out of his, and kneeled in the snow to pick it up.

She heard a bang, then felt a splatter of liquid warmth; the girl was still as a statue. Glancing upwards she saw the remains of the young alien slumped on the snow, his head completely blown off his body from a sniper rifle.

She was struck dumb by the sight, and while she said nothing, her eyes were screeching at the Marine carrying a sniper. He looked a bit pained that she had to see that, but it was war, and she needed to understand.

"Kid, you have to understa-NO! Do not talk back to me. Listen: this Elite could've killed you. Wait, wait. Calm yourself." he placed a hand on her quivering shoulder. "I have three kids, and when I saw you on your knees, in front of an Elite no less, I thought of them. I thought of what I would do if one of them were in your place. So, I killed him."

"He did nothing to me," she whimpered, remembering the Sangheili on the Truth and Reconciliation. He could've killed her, but he let her live. Deja vu, indeed.

"Balamiya, this is war." Cortana said, trying to consol her.

"But I don't understa-"

"No buts. No more. You must make yourself understand."

Nodding, but not agreeing, she waited until the Chief crossed the door and fought off all resistance himself. Vardihi folded her arms and thought quietly to herself. If an enemy showed no hostile intent, did that mean that you still killed them? It made no sense at all, and she strongly disliked the fact that neither Human nor Covenant were willing to see between the lines.

"Vardihi, it's clear. Come on." John voice echoed in the hallways.

"Pardon me for a minute," Cortana said. Again her voice went to the radio. "Fire Team Zulu, I've sent a distress signal tagged with your current position. Hold here and await evac. The Master Chief and I are going to continue on inside."

"That's affirmative! Fire Team Zulu Out!"

She pouted and continued down the hallway to John's location. Her head was down and her arms were tightly folded across her chest. It was obvious that she was in a bad mood.

Cortana just shook her head. "Please Vardihi, I can't make it any clearer to you that what happened back there was a-"

"It was a fucking stupid thing to do. I saw the same scenario back on the Truth and Reconciliation: a Sangheili spared me, but you shot his ass anyway." she huffed. "If we are to win this war, we are to show them that we are not heartless. We care, and if you show no malicious intent, we will spare you."

_Oh, if only it were that easy, Vardihi. _John thought while he reloaded his gun. _If only you were to understand. _

She said nothing, but turned on her heel and entered the door at the end of the cold metallic corridor.

"I'm getting tired of these things," she said. "I have that Sangheili's plasma rifle on me, so I'm covered. Actually, you can go. I'll stay here until the room clears out."

"Smart girl," John mumbled, and took on the awaiting Covenant. Vardihi could honestly admit that if there was anything bipolar about her, it would be her views on humanity. One moment she would be gushing praise over how original and innovative they were, the next she would be cursing them to hell over how they were so callous and selfish. The latter feelings were her current.

"Okay, Vardihi. The coast is clear!"

Thinking she should just forgo any type of bad thoughts about her species, she stepped over the bodies and headed towards the other door.

Suddenly she recoiled, doubled over in pain, falling to her knees. The inside of her chest exploded with some sort of stellar agony.

John put a hand on her shoulder. "Vardihi, are you alright?"

She grit her teeth; her heart! Oh Christ, she can't be having a heart attack now! Not at this age! Slowly the pain subsided, and was replaced with a dull glowing feeling. It felt like a galaxy had

been born inside of her, and was idly cooling itself, gathering its shine. Collecting dust and gravity to sustain itself, collecting blood and tissue to hold itself together.

"I...I think I pulled a muscle." she swallowed. "Yeah, I think I did. Listen, this is going to sound weird, but I think something exploded inside my chest. Like, I think something is...trying to be born."

"Probably just growing pains. They're common in adolescents." Cortana was used to her exaggerating about little things. "Let's push forward...we're getting close."

Vardihi stood and breathed in deeply, resulting in her coughing up a storm.

"Please, don't do that. If you did pull a muscle you're only making it worse." John motioned her to follow him. "As soon as we find the control room..."

"We're getting you medical attention." Cortana finished. "Can you walk?"

"Yeah."

John saw something in Vardihi's eyes; something was either wrong or she was thinking about something deep. She sat on the floor, shaking.

"John," she whispered. "What would you do if I died?"

Well, _this_ was unexpected. He never thought about what he would do if she were to die. Slowly the Spartan played out the grisly scenario in his mind. What would he feel, how would he react?

"I'd cry."

"Really?"

"_Really?"_ Cortana said.

"Yes...really." John repeated. He honestly didn't know if he would cry or not; he knew he'd feel remorse and even some sorrow. But no one had effected him _that _much to make him cry. But this was an innocent little girl, who he had been trusted to protect at all cost. Who had somehow wormed her way into his heart, and who he felt like a true human with.

"Well, no time for stalling," she dusted herself off and ran down a corridor. She then called out, "Elevator!"

"Don't touch anything until I'm on it!"

"I won't! Ooooooh! What's this do?"

"DON'T TOUCH!

Her laughter, which was both unnerving and soothing, echoed back to him.

* * *

Since the first moment I saw a Stealth Elite I've been itching to make a snowball and chuck it at him. It would make it easier to track, that's for sure. And it would've been tons of fun!

Kudos to all my positive reviewers who have stuck this long.

FloggingFanfics, thanks for giving me a chance in your PM-s,

Azmaria, thanks for being supportive

Liramolt/Arbiter/whatever, thanks for your constructive reviews

Winkaku, thanks for writing that previous review. That, along with others, has kept me going.

The next chapter will be short, and the one after that has a _mahou shoujo _warning on it. Which means...ah, you'll see.


	24. Shattered Ice

_I can't live with or without you. _

* * *

**The Hanging Garden **

After this chapter I'm working on re-writing the former chapters. Just so you know, any chapter that has Vardihi's name as "Utethy" is now considered non-fanon and needs a rewrite.

And the constant response to "are we there yet?" ("Does it look like we're there yet?") is a tribute to my dad, who says the exact same thing every time I say the former question.

**Chapter 24: Shattered Ice **

"Did you touch anything?" he asked, slightly alarmed.

"Nope!" she rocked on her heels, hovering before a consol. "Should I now?"

"Yes."

She touched the panel, and the elevator jerked upwards, finally moving at a fluid pace. Vardihi felt the urge to sit down and check to see if she broke a rib or two. But she could feel it, sense it...something was born inside of her, and it wanted to just burst forth from her body.

"Are you sure you're okay?" John said.

"I can tough it out. I'm a soldier, too."

"Well, you aren't a Spartan–" he cut himself off as they reached the top, and sent a hail of bullets at the Kig-yar scout waiting on the platform. Sighing, he continued.

"–and you can't really take much damage. Remember: you're a little girl."

"Whatever, Chief."

They continued through the hallway, and then down the slope to see two more scouts. The Master Chief rolled a frag grenade their way, and blew the birds out of their feathers.

Vardihi grabbed the plasma pistol and ran into the main room, only to run back to John after hearing "IT'S HER! EEH! KILL!" from a wandering Unggoy.

She grabbed a plasma grenade from the Kig-yar's body, and haphazardly threw it in their direction.

"Vardihi?" Cortana sighed.

"Yes?"

"You forgot to light it."

"Fuckies."

"Stop swearing," the Master Chief said. "And I'll take care of them. Don't move."

"I won't."

He ran from her into the waiting arms of the Covenant, and while she stared at the steel walls. Vardihi heard screaming, and she had the urge to earn the right to her survival, not wait for John to be finished with whatever alien that threatened their existence.

Almost immediately after she ran into the crossfire she regretted it, and wished that her better judgement got hold of her before now.

Practically everyone in the room turned their sights onto her, and she realized that she should've stayed hidden. Vardihi ducked into the dark room in the center of the much bigger area surrounding it.

After that, everything seemed like a blur: seven loud breaths allowed a Kig-yar to easily find her and drag the poor girl out by her hair. A glint of golden armor with a glowing energy sword above her. The way the Field Master snorted with disgust, the way he heaved the sword, poising for the kill.

"_John!!" _

The sound of bullets ripping through armor and flesh, the feeling of being dragged away from the chaos by the SPARTAN's strong hands.

She knew John was going to be angry with her, and Cortana would loose her patience again.

But she heard nothing from either of them. They were in another identical hallway, and she was overcome with deja vu; she wondered if they would ever reach the control room without feeling like they've gone around in a circle.

"Are we there yet?"

"Does it look like we're there yet?"

"Nope," then, after looking at a familiar triangle door; "oh, boy! Another pathway into a frozen wasteland."

Sure enough, as soon as the door opened, a bridge dusted with snow appeared before them. Napping Unggoy were oblivious to their presence, and continued to dream of a methane rich paradise that they hoped they would live to see.

Unfortunately for them, John made sure that every last Grunt's brains were smacked out of his skull.

"Was that really necessary?" Vardihi scowled, trying to hide her contempt.

"Yes, and you know why." he turned from her, and pressed his hand against her back, signaling her to stay behind the large barrier. He ignited a plasma grenade, and tossed it at an Kig-yar. Seconds later it exploded, taking the scouts with it.

He proceeded a few steps forward, throwing another plasma grenade onto a Major Domo, only

this time it caused a domino effect: once the grenade exploded, several other grenades (and methane chambers) took out almost an entire platoon of Covenant.

"Well done, Master Chief," Cortana said. "I think we can get Balamiya now."

"Right behind ya!" she jogged her way to him, and smiled through gasps.

"O-kay, let's continue then."

Vardihi nodded and picked up a fallen plasma pistol. It was warm, which eased the feeling of numbness in her hands. She noticed that many Covenant were waiting on the other side, and they knew the trio was coming for them.

She didn't know what to do then, which was a rare thing for the naturally impulsive girl, and the thoughts were cut off when the Master Chief ran forward and dealt with them himself.

At first she wanted to bound forward, but realizing how much of a gamble she would take decided to wait until there were few left.

Now it was the time to run as fast as she could to the other side, not letting go of the pistol and hoping to warm herself through exercise.

"Keep running like that and you're set," Cortana said wryly "Now, if only you were that quick with your reasoning."

Vardihi rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Let's just keep going."

John slid in another magazine into his rifle. "If we're quick, and quiet, we may be able to get passed the troops they have in the next rooms."

"Oh great." she scowled, then walked into the safety of the warm inside, expecting the worst. "So, the same as usual? I stay back, you haul ass?"

"Sounds good."

"Maybe I'll pop in and pique the interest of everyone who wants to have the honor of killing me."

"Don't do that."

"Okay."

Yet more identical hallways, doors...even if this was a fantastic adventure that she adored, the monotony of the scenery was getting to her. Yet seeing an alien world that was both familiar and foreign never stopped putting her in childlike awe.

To her amazement, the coast was (actually) clear. Nothing! Incredible! The SPARTAN saw thing as a good thing, and they walked quietly to the right, stopping when they saw a Minor Domo, back to them, pacing the floors.

John tossed yet another plasma grenade at the hapless Sangheili, and while it didn't take long for the warrior to notice his days were numbered, Vardihi felt a pang of regret. She always did.

They were careful to avoid any other snooping Covenant, and for seven seconds, they were safe.

Hence "for seven seconds". Vardihi smirked to herself, thinking that the worst was over when-

"HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT!!"

They came out of nowhere, hiding in the vacant hallway parallel to the one they stood in. Mostly Unggoy, a Kig-yar here and there, an a Minor Domo leading them. She jumped away from the gunfire into the said parallel hallway, hoping to not get her brains blown out of her head. What made things worse was that she was public enemy number one, and that wherever she went someone was more than willing to kill her. Although, she noted dryly, even if she_ weren't_ anything special, she would've still been on the Covenant's billion name long hit list.

Vardihi let out a breath of air as the final Kig-yar fell to the ground. She stumbled towards John and took in the scene around her.

"_That _was a clusterfuck!!" she exclaimed.

"You think _that _was a clusterfuck?" the Master Chief snorted. "You've seen worse; this doesn't come anywhere close."

"Well, it just kinda surprised me. That's all. I mean, yeah this isn't as bad as anything we've ever encountered, but it was surprising."

"Anyway, we have no time to loose," Cortana cut in. "We have to keep moving. Stalling isn't getting us anywhere."

Moments later they quietly sprinted into another large room, this time trying to be as quiet as possible so to not alarm anyone.

It lasted for about, oh, three seconds.

The Master Chief heard the battle cry of an Elite, and roughly pushed her away; the last thing he needed was for her to get mortally wounded. He wasted little time unloading all of his magazine on the stubborn creature, and melee-ed it until it fell down, lifeless.

Vardihi, however, was in a much less easy predicament. After being pushed aside, she had the delight of being "welcomed" by several Unggoy and Kig-yar. She had no shield, and only a plasma pistol to defend herself.

Throwing away all hesitation, she didn't bother aiming, just shooting at whatever came close to her. Her eyes shut themselves on their own accord, not bothering looking. The feeling of being scorched, the feeling of her knees hitting the metal floor, the feeling of lightheadedness...

Her ring glowed furiously, and she clutched her chest as if her heart were to explode.

_John!! _

_Joh...Jon...No...Noa. Noa_

_Noa... _

_- - / - - _

"_You have been called upon to serve."_

_A red-brown haired woman, kneeling. _

"_You are to () from the oncoming storm." _

_The woman nodding. _

"_There will be a great deal of hardship on the road ahead. But you have lived long enough to () the creatures that devoured so many futures. Futures that I should've been able to save."_

_Garbled. Like before. No sense, no moral, no conscience. _

_The woman saying nothing but nodding. Everything was so blurry... _

' _forgive me '_

_- - / - - _

"Vardihi! Get down!!"

She glued her eyes to the door ahead, and sprinted without even thinking. Running down the hallways until she purposely threw herself against the walls to stop, not caring what John or Cortana would say.

Vardihi heard the Master Chief's heavy footfalls coming closer, and while she expected him to yell, he instead put his hand on her shoulder.

"See Chief?" she smiled. "My ring didn't make me do crazy things this time..."

"What happened then? You didn't move, just knelt there."

"My shoulder hurts," she touched the now open needler wound, and flinched. That plasma ball re-opened it, and the worst she got was some semi-transmission/subconscious thought/whatever it was.

The voice speaking was that of her Prince. Other than the time they met, he sounded sad almost. She was experiencing all of these

"Another vision, Vardihi?"

"Uh huh."

"All right, just sit down for a while and relax."

"I saw a woman, John," she said. "I think her name was Noa. But she could be anyone."

"Calm down, take deep breaths."

"I am," she inhaled deeply. "That drug they gave me fucked me up real bad. Seeing things, hearing things...not fun."

"I can tell. But let's keep going if you're up to it," Cortana said.

"Of course I am!" she stood and straightened herself. "Always ready._ Semper Vigilante_, as the

Romans said it."

"That's 'always vigilante', not 'always ready'."

"Whatever, John!"

Huffing she strut away from him and beyond the triangular door, which held another bridge. Vardihi stood by the door and watched as John reloaded the assault rifle, then began to mow down all enemies in the path before them. She smiled and followed the SPARTAN over dead bodies and under flying splatters of blood.

It was morbid, and everything started to slightly become more peaceful. John was here, alive and fighting like the dog of war he is. Cortana was...eh, alive. And she was alive. Vardihi, the survivor of a chaotic car accident, was alive, here, on this ring.

Somehow this would've been a very good time to break out into song about how wonderful life was. She would've liked to see the look on John's face.

Vardihi was more than happy to be back in the warmth of the room, and it wasn't until then that she discovered that she had been on a high from the moment they stepped onto the bridge.

"John, do you think I'm pretty?"

He stopped and looked at her. Was there ever a time that she _didn't _throw in a random comment? The Master Chief then reminded himself that she was possibly on a high, and decided to play along for the time being.

"Yes. Yes I think you're pretty."

"That's good. I like you." she smiled shyly and walked ahead of him. "Though you should reload your weapon, you're close to finished."

John looked at his assault rifle, and to his amazement, she was correct. Dutifully he reloaded, and wondered how she knew. She wandered to the next portion of their journey, and waited for him to catch up with her.

"Two Kig-yar, a few Unggoy, and maybe a Major," she said, looking up the walkway.

"Those are not all that's in there, Balamiya," Cortana huffed. "There are_ many _more there than what you predicted. I'm guessing about twenty."

"I never said that was the amount, Cortana; those are the ones he doesn't kill, but wounds."

If Cortana were in physical form, chances are her holographic eyebrows would've shot up. The drug they induced on her was powerful, and they unwittingly unlocked some form of dormant precognition.

"Master Chief...go test out this theory," the AI mumbled quietly. Her arms crossed and waited.

The said theory was near flawless, and as it turned out, the SPARTAN did in fact, wound only the ones she mentioned. Whether they died from their wounds she did not say, but simply wept as she stepped over their moaning and silent bodies.

As quickly as the precognition came, it went, and the magenta-haired girl was left blinking back

the tears.

John, in turn, said nothing but put a hand on her shoulder as they continued. The next passageway was not littered with Covenant, but a single Stealth Sangheili with an Energy Sword.

Before the Master Chief could spot him, the alien warrior sprinted in his direction and swung too close to his head. The Elite was filled with bullets faster than Vardihi could say "Run away!"

"And that is kill number three thousand on Halo. Congratulations, Chief." Cortana said with just a tint of a sardonic smile.

"Thanks," He said plainly.

They walked carefully to the other side, only for the Master Chief to see a ripple of movement only three feet away. It was another stealth Elite. This time much a lot smarter than his predecessor, and seemed to be aiming more for Vardihi than the soldier. The Sangheili had heard what the child could do to men in their sleep, and resolved to rid the universe of this succubus.

The one thing he forgot, though, is that she was well protected, and with a quick swipe of John's fist on the back of the Sangheili's head, the warrior was dead.

"Make that number three thousand and one." Cortana chuckled.

"And may more to come," Vardihi smiled. "Are we any closer to the control room?"

"In fact, we are _very _close. At the end of this hallway, we're all set."

"Great. Now we can do whatever needs to be done." she nibbled on her thumbnail in though.

"Hopefully."

Vardihi shoved her hands in her pockets, and awaited the cold air about to hit her face. As reluctant as she was, she was hoping to possibly get a view of her Prince, maybe he awaited her there. Did he remember her? Would he still want to meet her?

She was quiet as they walked carefully, her Knight's Assault Rifle ready. The last door opened and the icy air pricked at her face yet again. They were on a bridge, but it wasn't made of metal, but stone. The fact that there was nothing on the sides of it made her nervous. To her left a giant ziggurat stood patiently, almost waiting for them to make their entrance.

Unfortunately for them, nothing is easy. Unggoy and Sangheili (and two Kig-yar) had their guns cocked, locked and ready to rock. There was nowhere to hide, really, and no one wanted to die by falling to their deaths. The only shelter was a rock, and without any further thought hid behind it.

"Analyzing..." Cortana put her hands to her temples in thought. "That must be the control room...subtle. The entrance is at the top of that pyramid. Bring us up there and I should be able to get us inside. If you can, get that Banshee. If not..."

"If not what?"

"Well, we'll have to get up there the only fashioned way."

"I prefer the new-fashioned way personally," Vardihi said between chattering teeth. "And it's a ziggurat!" The sounds of Covenant screaming, grenades going off and plasma and bullets drowned out her little voice, and even if Cortana heard her, the saucy AI would've ignored her. She looked one more time at the ziggurat, and a feeling of nostalgia washed over her.

Well, the entire ring was a déjà vécu trip. It really seemed as thought she'd been here before.

_Was_ she here before?

Her chest suddenly throbbed with pain, and she reluctantly knelt in the snow to soothe her cramping legs. Her head began to hurt (maybe from lack of water?) and scooped up some snow to eat it. The nerves in her teeth reacted painfully, and swallowed the liquidizing snow.

"Vardihi?" John said.

"Yeah?"

"You still alive?"

She scowled "Obviously."

"No back-sassing," Cortana said curtly, "The Master Chief was nice enough to grab us a Banshee. I...don't know if we have enough room for you."

Vardihi stood and stepped over the bodies to inspect the Banshee. "I'm small, and there's just enough room for me to hang on. So John, you can get in, and I'll climb on your back."

"I hope it works,"

"You better hope it works; I'm praying to dear God above that it does! I don't wanna die." she grumbled. Nervously she climbed on the Master Chief's back and hung on for dear life as it hovered from the snowy bridge into the air.

Her legs bore the brunt of the gelid air's wrath There wasn't much to see, other than snow, ice and Wraiths. She enjoyed the view while she could, and hoped to someday see this lovely landscape again, under better circumstances.

"We're halfway there..." Cortana said.

The ziggurat was made out of some form of marble-like stone, maybe even _just _pure stone. But there were some things about it that made it seem...more familiar than before. Maybe it was the way it looked, or maybe it was the way the snow fell, or maybe it was because of the large green thing heading straight for–

Wait. WHAT?!

"Chief! On your right! Look out!!" The AI was frantic, and the Master Chief tried to turn it away from it, jerking the controls upward. Vardihi sucked in a deep breath and failed to try not to panic. Her breath hitched as the green ball collided with the Banshee, and they spiraled into the snow at an alarming rate. She gripped her Knight's armor tighter and prayed for her life.

The landing was not gentle, and the Banshee skid in the snow before finally coming to a clumsy stop. The top flew off , and so did she; luckily the girl was closer to the ground than the hatch was. Her landing on the snow was painful, and the frigid feeling made it all the worse. She awkwardly raised her head, and swiped the snow out of her eyelashes before seeing John slide out of the wreckage and onto the soft snow.

She was overjoyed at seeing him, surviving a fall like that! The girl smiled wearily and closed her eyes to calm herself. The fear had paralyzed her, and that is what saved her.

She heard heavy footsteps get closer and closer to her. The Master Chief had regain control of his legs and was coming to see how she was.

"John, holy shit...that was un-fucking-believable. I can't believe we survived!"

"I can't believed you survived, actually."

Holy shit...that wasn't John's voice.

"But honestly, I'm glad you did."

A hand grabbed her shoulder and turned her over on her back. Her color paled as she saw the familiar face, and the way he gently lifted her up off the snow. Vardihi heard the sound of a gun reloading behind her, and she turned to see the Master Chief, his assault rifle leveled, ready to shoot.

The male glared at John, and he touched the weapon at his waist, ready to unleash the his fury on his nemesis. The look on Vardihi's face was enough to make his drop the homicidal look in his eyes back to an affectionate one.

"It's so good to see you again, Vardihi." his voice was earnest, as was the smile on his face.

"I can say the same...Zek."

* * *

Ugh, this chapter did NOT want to get written.


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